Watch Lady Gaga headline first night of Coachella 2025 with theatrical five-act set

Fans have said the performance, which came complete with gothic visuals, a chess board dance battle, and several skeletons, was the "best Coachella show of all time" The post Watch Lady Gaga headline first night of Coachella 2025 with theatrical five-act set appeared first on NME.

Apr 12, 2025 - 14:48

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga headlined the first night of Coachella 2025 with a theatrical five-act set, complete with gothic visuals and a chess board dance battle.

READ MORE: Coachella 2025 weekend one: line-up, stage times and how to watch online

Making her return to the Californian festival – which will see sets from the likes of Post Malone, Travis Scott, Missy Elliott, Charli XCX, Megan Thee Stallion and more – Friday’s (April 11) flamboyant headline performance marked her first since her 2017 debut at the event.

Kicking off a mammoth set with 2011’s ‘Bloody Mary’ – which has had a renaissance in recent years thanks to Netflix’s Wednesday – she performed alongside a gothic backdrop featuring gargoyles and angels, before launching into recent release ‘Abracadabra‘.

One standout moment in “Act I” was her rendition of 2008 hit ‘Poker Face’, which saw her dancers act out an Alexander McQueen-esque chess game, which fans instantly labelled “iconic”.

lady gaga performing ‘poker face’ & simulating chess is ICONIC #coachella pic.twitter.com/XxGt8rqMHX
— ໊ (@smazos) April 12, 2025

Lady Gaga performed "Poker Face" while simulating a chess battle at #GAGACHELLA: "Off with her head." pic.twitter.com/O6ofBLhdKb
— LⱯDY GⱯGⱯ NOW Read More