The lights at Coachella went out the way they always do. Then Madonna walked onstage, and they came back on different.
"20 years ago today I performed at Coachella," she told the crowd. "I was at the dance tent. Same boots, same corsets. It's like a full circle moment." Then she sang an unreleased track from Confessions II, due July 3, before the two of them closed with "Like a Prayer." You spend decades wondering who carries the torch. Sometimes someone just walks out and hands it over.
THIS WEEK IN SHOWS 🎸
Karol G turned a Coachella headline into a 39-date stadium tour. Seven days. That's how long it took to go from the first Latina to headline Coachella to announcing the Viajando Por El Mundo TropiTour: Soldier Field, SoFi, MetLife, Lumen Field, then Mexico, South America, and Europe through June 2027. Presale registration closes April 24. After Bad Bunny's Coachella-to-stadium pipeline, this is now a pattern.
The Strokes projected CIA regime-change history on the Coachella main stage. During "Oblivius," the screens showed footage of CIA-backed coups in Iran, Chile, Bolivia, and Panama, then text about universities struck in Gaza and Iran. Julian Casablancas sang "What side you standing on?" while YouTube's live feed broadcast every frame to millions.
Fan reaction split sharply. The question now is whether Coachella is explicitly welcoming political speech from headliners, and what that means for sponsors and future bookings.
Alabama Shakes played their first show in eight years. Richmond, Virginia. April 16. Classic lineup: Brittany Howard, Steve Johnson, Heath Fogg, Zac Cockrell back on bass. They opened with the new single "American Dream" and added Radio City Music Hall to the run. A dollar from every ticket goes to the Alabama Shakes Fund for nonprofits.
"I was at the first show of the reunion" is the kind of line that sounds better every year.
Billy Strings broke his leg doing a skateboard trick between sets. A back 180 backstage at Ting Pavilion in Charlottesville. Left tibia and fibula, just above the ankle. He shared the X-rays showing the surgical screws and postponed spring dates: Charleston to August 4, the sold-out three-night Fishers run to August 6-8. Next up: July 2 Austin City Limits taping.
The fastest flatpicker alive, taken out by a skateboard. Somehow this is the most Billy Strings thing that has ever happened.
THE VENUE REPORT 🏟️
Memphis has a new room, and it opened with a reunion. Grind City Amp is a 4,500-capacity open-air amphitheater on the riverfront in Uptown, and Alabama Shakes christened it on April 22 with one of their first shows back in eight years.
The grand opening weekend runs April 25 with MonoNeon, Eric Gales fresh off an Oscars performance, Cedric Burnside, Joybomb, and Raneem Imam. All ages, free admission. A collaboration between Grind City Brewing and promoter Nick Barbian, with plans for 12-15 concerts per year.
Wilco is booked for July 7. Memphis has needed a mid-size outdoor venue for years. The fact that it opened with one of the most emotionally charged reunion tours of the year makes the story hard to separate from the room itself.
THE NUMBER 🔢
51% of music festival attendees in the U.S. are women, yet less than 25% of musicians on major U.S. festival stages are female.
THEN 🕰️
10 years ago this week, Beyonce opened the Formation World Tour at Marlins Park in Miami. Lemonade had dropped four days earlier. What followed was 49 sold-out shows and $256 million grossed, the most visually ambitious and culturally significant concert tour of the decade.
She proved that a stadium show could be an artistic statement and a political conversation at the same time. Every woman who headlined Coachella this month did it on a stage she helped build.
FAN DEBATE 💬
Four countries have blocked Kanye West shows in two weeks. UK revoked his ETA. France postponed. Poland cancelled with a statement from the Culture Minister: "In a country marked by the history of the Holocaust, we cannot pretend that this is just entertainment." Switzerland's FC Basel cited "values" and pulled the venue.
The same artist who sold out three SoFi Stadium nights can't find a European stage that will have him. Fans holding tickets for Turkey, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and Portugal have no clarity on what happens next.
Where's the line? Should governments be deciding who gets to perform, or is that the venue's call?
THE PRACTICAL BIT 🔧
California's ticket resale cap just cleared its first committee. AB 1720 would cap concert ticket resale at 10% above face value. Concerts, comedy, and theater are covered. Professional sports are not. Minnesota is advancing a 115% cap. New York is proposing face value. The twist: Live Nation is backing this one, days after losing the antitrust verdict.
B-SIDES 🎶
Billie Eilish became Bieber's "One Less Lonely Girl." She met him at Coachella in 2019, a 17-year-old superfan. Seven years later, Hailey Bieber pushed her onstage and Bieber serenaded her from the chair. Eilish posted "Can't stop crying." Some concert memories rewrite the whole story.
Kacey Musgraves rode a horse into Coachella. First festival set in seven years. Fifty minutes in the Mojave tent: three new songs from Middle of Nowhere (out May 1), a Willie Nelson duet, and a George Strait rewrite. A tent set that packed more moments than most main-stage headliners all year.
Prince's estate released a song he kept for 35 years. As we noted last week, April 21 marked 10 years since his death. "With This Tear" was recorded at Paisley Park in November 1991. He wrote, produced, arranged, and played every instrument. He gave the song to Celine Dion, who released her version in 1992. His stayed in the vault until now.
Live Nation filed its appeal. The remedy phase begins. Ticket prices won't drop in 2026. Judge Subramanian now decides the breakup question, and the states asked for structural relief, meaning forced Ticketmaster divestiture is on the table.
Meghan Trainor cancelled her entire summer tour. New baby, album pressures, a $6.8M LA mansion listed the same day. MSG, Chase Center, Kia Forum, 20-plus dates, all gone.
Anyma's AEDEN finally landed at Coachella. Wind cancelled his W1 main-stage debut minutes before showtime. A week later, on a still Friday night, it worked. Matt Bellamy of Muse guested on "Carrier of Souls." LISA of BLACKPINK drew the loudest reception. Joji closed with "Beautiful."
The night the sound cut out mid-chorus and the whole room kept singing without the stage. The band just stood there watching.
I keep thinking about Madonna standing in the wings, waiting for her cue, knowing exactly what that stage used to feel like when it was hers.
What'd you think of this week's Still Ringing? Hit reply.
See you at the show.
