The first day of Coachella’s second weekend blew away audience expectations amid blustery desert winds.

Even with dust stirred up from the previous weekend tearing through the air, the kickoff to the second half of the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, featured a variety of large-scale pop performances that ignited festivalgoers’ energy for the weekend ahead.

Keep reading for a recap of the performances the Daily Bruin caught during day one.

MARINA

MARINA brought her flavorful take on pop to the festival’s titular Coachella Stage.

With a set time starting at about 5:40 p.m., MARINA entertained the crowd with songs such as “How to Be a Heartbreaker” and “Primadonna.” The artist wore a sleek pale pink dress complete with a hood, reminiscent of many of Grace Jones’ signature looks and the futuristic outfit worn by Kylie Minogue in the latter’s “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head” music video. The ensemble paired well with the glittery aesthetic and bright pink lights that illuminated the stage alongside her.

Prancing and jumping across the stage, MARINA engaged the audience with the last performance on the Coachella Stage to be completed before sunset. The most energetic moment of her set arrived with her closing song as she exuberantly sang “Bubblegum Bitch.” The crowd enthusiastically chanted along to the playful refrain “I’m Miss Sugar Pink, liquor, liquor lips / I’m gonna be your bubblegum bitch.”

Just like bubblegum, MARINA’s presence and music popped.

[Related: Q&A: Tinlicker’s Micha Heyboer talks 2025 Coachella performance of ‘I Started A Fire’]

Tyla

Tyla brought the sweat to Coachella.

The South African songstress took the stage at the Outdoor Theatre for about 45 minutes starting around 6:45 p.m., beginning with an introductory video of a red leopard before running through more than a dozen of her Afrobeats and amapiano-infused songs. The Grammy winner donned a green top, silver necklaces and blue shorts with fringe pieces in an ensemble that seemed to replicate elements of Britney Spears’ costume for “I’m A Slave 4 U” at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards. As with Spears’ famous performance, Tyla’s set was at times brazenly sexual in tone as she gyrated across the stage.

Easily, the most striking element of Tyla’s set was the variety of choreography she showcased, never missing a beat as she navigated the bleachers setup on stage with her backup dancers. The first three songs of her set were especially upbeat as she glided from “PUSH 2 START” alongside three female dancers to “Truth or Dare” with three male dancers, before the troupe of six danced in tandem for “Safer.” During other songs such as “SHAKE AH” and “Jump,” Tyla received hollers and applause as she sashayed and twerked across the stage with confidence.

Tyla’s performance style demonstrated her pop-star sensibilities for both reflection and novelty, which was illustrated by her smooth integration of Aaliyah’s “Rock The Boat” with her own “On and On.” Later in the set, Tyla was joined by South African rapper WizTheMc for the live debut of their collaboration “Show Me Love.” During Tems’ pre-recorded verse on “No.1,” she ran offstage to interact with fans along the barricade. The sole times the set had sudden drops in energy were during an underwhelming call-and-response attempt and the debut of an unreleased song with a considerably slower tempo.

Regardless, Tyla had already made the audience lose its breath several times by the time she splashed into a bubble-filled inflatable kiddie pool for closing number “Water.”

The Marías

It was impossible not to notice The Marías’ dynamism at Coachella.

Starting an hourlong set at 8:20 p.m., María Zardoya and her eponymous band delivered a mystical aura drenched in Gothic imagery to the Outdoor Theatre stage, which had been outfitted with a circular backdrop that made each silhouette all the more striking. Zardoya wore an alluring black dress that was partially sheer and featured shimmering lace details. The dress was integral to the enthralling nature of the indie-pop band’s performance, as the forceful Indio winds allowed the piece’s rippling dark train to lift in the air and whirl behind Zardoya, each of its ethereal movements intensifying her power as she paced the stage.

The group stuck with a motif of dark, crashing waves on screen and hues of blue and indigo lights beginning with songs like “Hamptons” and “Real Life,” but other tracks such as “Run Your Mouth” were accompanied by golden light as the funky basslines became more prominent. During a cover of The Cardigans’ “Lovefool,” which was mixed with “Care For You,” a trumpet solo wove in Outkast’s seminal horn instrumental from “SpottieOttieDopaliscious.” Zardoya made multiple trips throughout the performance to interact with fans at the barricade, also waving the flag of Puerto Rico at one point and commenting on the band’s previous Coachella performance three years ago.

With Zardoya’s expressive gestures and spellbinding stares out into the crowd – combined with the band’s sonic synergy – The Marías put the audience in a trance.

[Related: Coachella 2025 Q&A: Musician Seun Kuti on the intersection between art, social justice]

Missy Elliott

As always, Missy Elliott knows how to “Work It.”

The four-time Grammy winner – and first female rapper to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, an achievement touted during her set – took the helm of the Coachella Stage at 9:00 p.m. It was possible for festivalgoers who attended The Marías set to catch the second half of Elliott’s performance one stage away – although from most angles on the Coachella grounds, it was easy to catch a glimpse of the sci-fi, futuristic visual smorgasbord Elliott presented on screen.

The latter portion of Elliott’s set included the combination of some of her biggest smash hits with extended dance breaks melding songs she has guest starred on. For instance, the effervescently playful “Work It” and unexpected highlight “Pass That Dutch” preceded a multisong medley that incorporated elements of tracks from Memphis Bleek’s “Is That Your Chick (The Lost Verses)” to Ciara’s “1, 2 Step.” For her final number, Elliott danced to her own “Lose Control” while striding out onto the stage’s peninsular catwalk one more time.

For the last performance of the night on the main stage before headliner Lady Gaga, Elliott displayed the fusion of several eras of hip-hop music with aplomb.