عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Entertainment

Gaga, Green Day, Post Malone Primed to Headline Sweltering Coachella

Lady Gaga. (AFP/Getty Images)
Lady Gaga. (AFP/Getty Images)
TT
TT

Gaga, Green Day, Post Malone Primed to Headline Sweltering Coachella

Lady Gaga. (AFP/Getty Images)
Lady Gaga. (AFP/Getty Images)

Music fans were descending on California's Coachella Valley for the premier arts festival that begins Friday and features headliners Lady Gaga, Green Day and Post Malone.

The opening day promises to be a scorcher, quite literally; a dome of high pressure is triggering a mini heat wave in southern California, with meteorologists predicting the temperature could crack 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius).

Organizers are urging the tens of thousands expected to arrive at the poorly shaded festival grounds to stay hydrated and use sunscreen as they gather to see other day-one lineup highlights including rapper Missy Elliott, Australian electropop band Parcels, and a rare stateside appearance from British punk ravers The Prodigy.

The sprawling desert weekend marks the unofficial start of music festival season, which Lady Gaga is priming to kick off with a bang. Fresh off the release of her latest album "Mayhem," the pop superstar has vowed "a massive night of chaos."

"Can't wait to hear you all singalong and dance dance DANCE till we drop," she posted when the lineup was announced.

South African star Tyla is also slated to perform Friday, one year after an injury forced her to pull out of the 2024 festival.

"Had many opportunities to go but swore to myself that the first time I go to Coachella, imma be performing... and look now!" she wrote on X when the lineups were announced last year.

And Blackpink's Lisa -- fresh off a role in HBO's hit show "White Lotus" -- will perform on her own Friday night, having twice taken the Coachella stage with her bandmates.

Later in the weekend Charli XCX is expected to turn the grounds her signature "brat" green, after a blockbuster year that saw her latest album propel her to new echelons of fame.

Travis Scott will play a special guest slot following Green Day's Saturday set, years after the hip-hop performer was slated to headline the 2020 festival, which was ultimately scrapped due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

- Rock revival -

Fresh off a Grammy win, Venezuelan band Rawayana is also primed to play a top slot on Saturday.

And celebrity conductor Gustavo Dudamel notably will lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a sunset concert.

There have been orchestral performances at Coachella before -- film composers Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer were showcased over the past decade -- but Saturday's performance will be the first time a major professional orchestra has played there.

Hip-hop superstar Megan Thee Stallion will helm the main stage Sunday ahead of Post Malone's headlining performance, with Ty Dolla $ign also set to perform.

Also on Sunday French duo Polo & Pan will bring their tropicalia-infused electro set back to the Coachella Valley.

German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk are another draw, as are two of the 2025 Best New Artist Grammy nominees, Shaboozey and Benson Boone.

And while Coachella has leaned decidedly pop over the past decade, the 2025 edition will get back to the festival's rock roots.

Along with Green Day, rock acts including The Go-Gos, the original Misfits, Jimmy Eat World, and cult punk legends the Circle Jerks are slated to play.

"In this world gone sideways we know one thing for certain - rock 'n' roll is forever, and its spirit is needed now more than ever," said Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong earlier this year in Billboard.

Coachella 2025 will take place on April 11-13 and 18-20.

Most Viewed

 
 
Entertainment

Heavy Metal Memorabilia on Offer at Julien’s ‘Music Icons’ Auction

Executive director and Co-founder of Julien's Auctions Martin Nolan poses with Kiss original lead guitarist Ace Frehley's #1 1974 "Budokan" Triple Pickup Gibson Les Paul Custom, Cherry Sunburst guitar at the Hard Rock Cafe Piccadilly Circus, in London, Britain, March 24, 2026. (Reuters)
Executive director and Co-founder of Julien's Auctions Martin Nolan poses with Kiss original lead guitarist Ace Frehley's #1 1974 "Budokan" Triple Pickup Gibson Les Paul Custom, Cherry Sunburst guitar at the Hard Rock Cafe Piccadilly Circus, in London, Britain, March 24, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Heavy Metal Memorabilia on Offer at Julien’s ‘Music Icons’ Auction

Executive director and Co-founder of Julien's Auctions Martin Nolan poses with Kiss original lead guitarist Ace Frehley's #1 1974 "Budokan" Triple Pickup Gibson Les Paul Custom, Cherry Sunburst guitar at the Hard Rock Cafe Piccadilly Circus, in London, Britain, March 24, 2026. (Reuters)
Executive director and Co-founder of Julien's Auctions Martin Nolan poses with Kiss original lead guitarist Ace Frehley's #1 1974 "Budokan" Triple Pickup Gibson Les Paul Custom, Cherry Sunburst guitar at the Hard Rock Cafe Piccadilly Circus, in London, Britain, March 24, 2026. (Reuters)

From an ‌array of guitars to stage-worn costumes, memorabilia from the world of heavy metal is on offer in Julien's Auctions upcoming "Music Icons" sale and on display in London over coming weeks.

Items belonging to Ace Frehley, the original lead Kiss guitarist, are among the highlights, including a 1977 tour jacket.

The star lot is the 1974 Gibson ‌Les Paul ‌Ace #1, used on stage and in ‌the ⁠studio by Frehley, ⁠who died last year. It has a price estimate of $400,000 - $600,000.

"He was tremendously attached to this guitar... it’s part of his history," Martin Nolan, executive director and co-founder of Julien's Auctions, told Reuters at ⁠a press preview on Tuesday at London's ‌Hard Rock ‌Cafe in Piccadilly Circus.

"And sadly, he's no longer ‌with us. So the guitar and ‌the items of clothing that he wore are the conversation pieces that keep that legacy alive, keep that memory alive."

Guitars played by Metallica's ‌Kirk Hammett and Motley Crue co-founder Mick Mars among others are ⁠also ⁠on offer in the auction.

A selection of the lots will be on display in the windows of London's Hard Rock Cafe in Piccadilly Circus until April 13, before going on show at Hard Rock Cafe Tokyo on April 27.

The "Music Icons" auction, which Nolan said features more than 700 items across genres, will take place May 29-30 at Hard Rock Cafe Times Square in New York.

Entertainment

Now a True Pop Star, Miley Cyrus Returns to her 'Hannah Montana' Roots to Fete Anniversary Special

Miley Cyrus attends the world premiere for the television show "Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special" in Los Angeles, California, US, March 23, 2026. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
Miley Cyrus attends the world premiere for the television show "Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special" in Los Angeles, California, US, March 23, 2026. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
TT
TT

Now a True Pop Star, Miley Cyrus Returns to her 'Hannah Montana' Roots to Fete Anniversary Special

Miley Cyrus attends the world premiere for the television show "Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special" in Los Angeles, California, US, March 23, 2026. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
Miley Cyrus attends the world premiere for the television show "Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special" in Los Angeles, California, US, March 23, 2026. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Sporting that “Hannah Montana” blonde hair and bangs, Miley Cyrus went back to her roots — celebrating 20 years of the TV show that launched the career of a real-life pop star.

Cyrus reunited with cast members of “Hannah Montana” in Los Angeles Monday evening for the premiere of the “Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special.”

Cyrus told The Associated Press that the milestone has given her a chance to see the character and series from “a new perspective.” Cyrus, who began the Disney Channel show at age 13, played Miley Stewart, a tween and middle-schooler hiding her secret life as a famous pop singer.

“Getting to be on the outside now, getting to be grown and be a part of it in a way that I couldn’t when I was in the middle of it before, and all the chaos and the schedule and the performing of it all,” Cyrus said, “now it just gets to be a celebration. So it is a new perspective. I love that.”

The anniversary special, which started streaming Tuesday on Disney+ and Hulu, celebrates 20 years since the show’s premiere. Filmed in front of a live audience, it features music, archival footage and an interview with Cyrus — now 33 and a genuine pop star — conducted by podcast host Alex Cooper.

Addressing the audience at the premiere, Cyrus paid tribute both to fellow cast members and fans. “Without you all, this show would have never been what it is, and I love saying what it is, not what it was,” she said.

“Tonight isn’t about looking back into the past, but it’s about what it means to us still tonight,” she said.

Jason Earles, who played Miley’s brother Jackson, told the AP that watching the show now highlights how much time has passed.

“I think if you go back and you watch the episodes, there’s enough dated references like old flip phones and stuff that you go, ‘Oh no, no, this show was a little while ago,'” he said.

Cody Linley, who played Miley’s on-and-off boyfriend Jake Ryan, reflected on the impact of portraying a teen heartthrob.

“It’s hard to believe that there were girls that had pictures of me with my shirt off in their locker and they would have me sign it,” Linley said. “And it’s hard not to let it go to your head, because you have to remember that it’s an image that they are seeing. It’s not you.”

Also attending the premiere was country singer Lainey Wilson, who recalled working as a “Hannah Montana” impersonator early in her career.

“From 8th grade to 12th grade, five years of my life, I would open up the show as Lainey Wilson, I would run behind a tree and put on my ‘Hannah Montana’ get-up,” the singer said. “I did birthday parties, fairs, festivals ... I was hitting the roads.”

Entertainment

'Project Hail Mary' Rockets to Top of N. America Box Office

Ryan Gosling arrives for the premiere of "Project Hail Mary" at Lincoln Center in New York City, US, March 18, 2026. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
Ryan Gosling arrives for the premiere of "Project Hail Mary" at Lincoln Center in New York City, US, March 18, 2026. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
TT
TT

'Project Hail Mary' Rockets to Top of N. America Box Office

Ryan Gosling arrives for the premiere of "Project Hail Mary" at Lincoln Center in New York City, US, March 18, 2026. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
Ryan Gosling arrives for the premiere of "Project Hail Mary" at Lincoln Center in New York City, US, March 18, 2026. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

Amazon MGM's sci-fi adventure flick "Project Hail Mary" debuted at the top of the North American box office this week with an astronomical $80.5 million, industry estimates showed Sunday.

Ryan Gosling stars in the film as a teacher-turned-astronaut who awakes on a spaceship with a mission to save Earth from a sun-dimming phenomenon.

It is adapted from a novel by Andy Weir, the author behind 2015 hit "The Martian" starring Matt Damon.

"Weir wrote the story as a standalone, but the weekend figure is more than double the average for a series launch -- that's how strong this is," analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research said.

Directed by filmmaking duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the movie marks "Amazon MGM's first big hit" since the retail giant acquired the storied studio in 2021, Gross noted.

Falling to second place after two weeks on top was animated hit "Hoppers," with $18 million, according to Exhibitor Relations.

The latest original film from Disney's Pixar tells the story of a young animal lover who uses technology to transfer her consciousness into a robotic beaver so she can better communicate and protect wildlife.

It has now taken in $242 million globally, according to Exhibitor Relations.

Third place went to Hindi-language spy thriller "Dhurandhar: The Revenge" with $9.6 million.

"Depending on where the final figure comes in on Monday, this is a record-breaking opening for a Bollywood film in the US," said Gross, potentially besting 2022 hit "RRR."

Released just three months after the original aired in North America, "Dhurandhar" continues the story of an Indian spy infiltrating Pakistani crime syndicates and politics, seeking to dismantle a terror network.

Considered political propaganda by some of India's neighbors, it has been notably banned in Pakistan.

With $9.1 million, fourth place went to Searchlight's "Ready or Not 2," a follow-up to the 2019 original comedy horror in which a bride must survive a deadly game of hide-and-seek with her new in-laws, AFP reported.

Australia's Samara Weaving reprises her starring role in the sequel, which sees her forced once again to run a gauntlet, this time against multiple families.

"This is a solid opening for the 2nd episode of a low-budget horror comedy series," Gross said. "This opening is up over the first picture, and that's rare."

Fifth place went to Universal's romance film "Reminders of Him," with $8 million.

It is the latest adaptation of a novel by Colleen Hoover and stars Maika Monroe and Tyriq Withers.