Sabrina Carpenter Turned Coachella Into Sabrinawood and the Desert Loved Every Second
Quick Reads
- Sabrina Carpenter headlined Coachella 2026 on Friday night, delivering a 90-minute, Hollywood-themed set that packed in 20 songs.
- The production dubbed “Sabrinawood”, featured a replica Hollywood Hills backdrop, a Walk of Fame-style catwalk, and multiple costume changes.
- Celebrity cameos from Sam Elliott, Susan Sarandon, Will Ferrell, and the voice of Samuel L. Jackson were woven throughout the performance.
- Carpenter debuted three songs from her album Man’s Best Friend live for the first time, including “We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night.”
- The night fulfilled a promise she made from the same festival in 2024, when she told the crowd she would return as a headliner.
Two years ago, Sabrina Carpenter stood on a Coachella stage at dusk and told a crowd that barely knew her newest song to expect her back as a headliner. On Friday night, she made good on that promise in spectacular fashion transforming the Empire Polo Club’s main stage into a full-blown Hollywood production, complete with film noir intros, old-school glamour, and a parade of A-list guests that kept the crowd guessing from start to finish.
The set opened with a black-and-white short film featuring Sam Elliott as a desert cop who warns a younger Carpenter not to head to California. From the moment the screens gave way to live performance red dress, orchestral swell, and the opening notes of “House Tour”, it was clear this was a different kind of pop show. Rolling Stone described it as an “electric headlining performance” that held a crowd of thousands in the palm of her hand, while Variety noted that the production brought “Hollywood, Broadway and a good old fashioned house party to the desert.”
Carpenter’s concept for the night was Sabrinawood, a set design that blended the Los Angeles skyline with the desert landscape her audience stood in. Giant letters rose from behind a miniature Hollywood Hills replica, the catwalk was styled after the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the visual references ran deep: nods to Chicago, Some Like It Hot, The Rocky Horror Show, and Copacabana were all threaded through individual song moments. Rolling Stone noted that she had started planning the production around seven months before the festival. In her own words, shared ahead of the performance, she called it “the most ambitious show I’ve ever done.”
“Two years ago, I wanted to put out a little song before Coachella. And now I think you might know the fucking words.” — Sabrina Carpenter, Coachella 2026
The performance was front-loaded with crowd favourites, with three of her four biggest hits landing within the first 20 minutes. A mid-set interlude featuring Susan Sarandon delivering a nearly seven-minute spoken monologue playing an older Carpenter reflecting on youth, courage, and ambition brought the momentum to a halt, drawing mixed reactions from the audience. Reports from on the ground at the time noted that people had begun sitting down. But the show recovered, building toward a confetti-drenched, Broadway-inspired finale as nuns, showgirls, and Chippendales took the stage alongside Carpenter for the closing run of songs, capped by “Espresso”, the track that started everything in 2024.
Among the highlights: the live debut of “We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night,” a scene-stealing moment during “Feather” where Carpenter was trailed across the stage by performers in burlesque-style black bird wings, and Samuel L. Jackson’s voice booming over the PA mid-“Juno” to address the Coachella crowd directly. Will Ferrell also appeared as an on-stage electrician, while Anya Taylor-Joy and fellow festival performer Sombr were spotted in the audience singing along during “Please Please Please.” Coachella 2026, which also featured Justin Bieber, Karol G, and last-minute addition Jack White on the lineup, was livestreamed globally via YouTube, with Deadline noting full access was available for free.
