K-pop boy band BigBang to make Coachella debut in 2026

SEOUL – K-pop boy band BigBang have joined the line-up of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which was announced on Sept 16.

The trio – comprising South Korean singers G-Dragon, Taeyang and Daesung – will hit the stage on April 12 and 19 during the 25th edition of the US music festival held in Indio, California, over two weekends in April 2026.

BigBang had been slated to be the first K-pop boy band to perform at Coachella in 2020, but the event that year was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Seungri withdrew from Bigbang in 2019 after a major scandal involving prostitution, gambling and embezzlement, while T.O.P left the group in 2023. Their last group release was the single Still Life (2022).

The three remaining members – who have been pursuing solo careers over the years – reunited on stage at Taeyang’s solo concert in September 2024.

G-Dragon, Taeyang and Daesung also staged a surprise performance at the Mama Awards in Osaka, Japan, in November 2024, and got together in August on Daesung’s YouTube channel to celebrate BigBang’s 19th anniversary.

Coachella 2026 will be headlined by American singer-songwriter Sabrina Carpenter, Canadian pop star Justin Bieber and Colombian reggaeton artiste Karol G.

Karol G is the first female artiste from Latin America to headline Coachella, after Puerto Rican hitmaker Bad Bunny became the first Spanish-language artiste to do so in 2023.

Also scheduled to perform is American rapper Young Thug, who was released from prison in late October 2024 after pleading guilty to gang involvement at the end of a nearly two-year prosecution.

American punk rock legend Iggy Pop, American indie-rock band The Strokes, English electronic music duo Disclosure and American electronic dance music and DJ group Major Lazer are also on deck for the festival. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, AFP