Filipinos Have Been Performing at Coachella Longer Than You Think

(SPOT.ph) If you opened social media over the weekend, you probably saw the hype around Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. At this point, it isn’t your average festival but something millions end up watching (#couchella), whether they planned it or not. A single set can change how an artist is seen globally, or at the very least, put them on the radar for a much wider audience. So when it was announced BINI was scheduled to perform in 2026, it was easy to see why it was the talk of the whole country.

It was make or break for these girls to walk onto one of music’s biggest stages—and they did not disappoint. After the first weekend, BINI emerged as one of the most-viewed acts on Coachella’s official Instagram posts, with a widely circulated tally putting them at about 22 million views—second only to Justin Bieber. It's clear representation on this scale matters.

BINI might be the first P-pop act to perform at Coachella, but they are certainly not the only Filipinos to make it to the stage. They join a long list of Filipino and half-Filipino artists who have appeared at the festival that represent hip-hop, indie, R&B, and electronic music genres. Some were part of the main acts and some just did quick guest appearances.

Our history with Coachella goes back further than most would expect. Even in the festival's earlier years—before it became the giant cultural machine it is now—Filipino artists were already in the mix, with the earliest confirmed names going all the way back to the late 90s.

Also read: BINI Makes History as First Filipino Group to Perform at Coachella

Need proof that Filipino talent was already in Coachella from the very beginning? You don’t even have to look past the first lineup. DJs Q-Bert and Mix Master Mike were both there in 1999, representing the turntablist scene at a time when DJs were still pushing what you could actually do with the craft. Q-Bert is Filipino-American, while Mix Master Mike is German-Filipino.

By the early 2000s, Filipino names were showing up through more mainstream acts. Our very own “Bebot” singer apl.de.ap performed as part of the Black Eyed Peas in 2003. That same year also included Chad Hugo as part of N.E.R.D. The Filipino-American producer is best known as one half of The Neptunes (the other being Pharrell Williams), who were behind a huge chunk of hip-hop and R&B at that time.

Then things quieted down for a while before Filipino artists began to show up more visibly again over a decade later. By 2015, the Filipino presence at Coachella had clearly moved beyond hip-hop. Toro y Moi, the project of Filipino-American artist Chaz Bear, brought his mix of indie pop, chillwave, funk, and electronic music to the festival. The Black Eyed Peas also returned as special guests of David Guetta’s set, where they performed “I Gotta Feeling” and “Awesome.”

The following year, there was Manila Killa. You won’t see his name on the official lineup poster for two reasons: first, he didn’t perform under his solo name but as part of electronic duo Hotel Garuda, and second, he played on the Do LaB stage—Coachella’s space for electronic and DJ sets, which has its own separate lineup. Even then, his Filipino identity has always stayed front and center—right down to his stage name.

Filipinos coming on as guests are also a common occurrence. Filipino-American artist Steve Lacy appeared at Coachella in 2017 as a guest performer for GoldLink before returning in 2023 as a billed act under his own name. By then, he was already one of the most recognizable artists in that alternative R&B scene.

Gingee’s Coachella history is the strongest on this list, even if she is not always the first name people bring up. The Filipina DJ has performed multiple times—2018, 2022, 2023, and 2025. What makes her especially interesting is that her work explicitly draws on Filipino percussion traditions, including kulintang gongs.

By 2019, Filipino representation at Coachella had become a lot easier to spot. H.E.R. was on the official lineup that year, giving the festival a Filipino-American artist who was already one of the biggest names in R&B with multiple Grammys under her belt.

No Rome also had his Coachella moment in 2019, joining The 1975 onstage for “Narcissist,” the alt-pop track that helped put him on the radar internationally. It was a quick guest performance, but many consider it particularly special—he built his career in Manila before moving to London at 18 after signing with Dirty Hit, making him stand out as a full Filipino artist on a list mostly made up of diaspora ones.

Who could forget beabadoobee? Born in Iloilo City, the Filipina-British singer brought her signature emotional indie-rock sound to Coachella in 2022 and returned in 2025. She was also part of the lineup in 2020, but it got canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another repeat artist is Eyedress, the project of Makati-born musician Idris Vicuña, who, like beabadoobee, performed in 2022 and returned in 2025. His catalog moves through lo-fi rock, post-punk, bedroom pop, dream-pop, and hip-hop.

Also in 2022, Filipino-Chinese American rapper Saweetie also made a guest appearance during Anitta’s set to sing their collaboration "Faking Love."

 You’d think someone as big as Olivia Rodrigo would have already headlined Coachella by now, but instead, she joined American rock band No Doubt onstage for a surprise performance in 2024. That same year also saw Tinzo and Jojo—a Filipino duo known as Book Club Radio—at the Do LaB stage.

Most people know that KATSEYE performed at Coachella in 2026, with Sophia Laforteza repping her Filipino heritage. She even gave Filipino fans a shoutout, saying, “I’m overwhelmed with emotion. It’s so beautiful. I see some people raising the Philippine flag here at Coachella. You guys are making our dreams come true.” As a nice full-circle moment, she also got a photo with BINI at the festival afterparty.

Less talked about is that there was another Filipino on the lineup this year. Mariqueen Maandig performed as one of the vocalists of Nine Inch Noize, the collaborative project between Nine Inch Nails and Boys Noize. Safe to say 2026 turned out to be a pretty great year for Filipinos at Coachella.

It's possible we missed a few names along the way, so let us know who else should be on this list!