Sabrina Carpenter has made good on a promise she delivered two years ago, taking the headline slot at
Coachella on Friday night. The singer's elaborate production was themed around a fictional arrival in Hollywood, with a towering 'Sabrinawood' sign serving as both a centrepiece and a performance platform throughout the evening.
Much of the setlist drew from Carpenter's 2025 record 'Man's Best Friend', produced in large part by Jack Antonoff with live instrumentation provided by Bleachers. Tracks such as '
Manchild' and '
Go Go Juice' benefited from full band arrangements, and the evening saw first-ever live outings for 'We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night', 'Such a Funny Way', and 'Sugar Talking'.
A trio of celebrity cameos punctuated the gaps between costume changes. Sam Elliott took on the role of a police officer introducing the 'Sabrinawood' segment, Susan Sarandon appeared as a future version of Carpenter in an extended monologue, and Will Ferrell brought comedic energy as an electrician.
The closing stretch of the night brought together some of Carpenter's biggest tracks, with '
Taste', 'Please Please Please', '
Don't Smile', '
Juno', and '
Espresso' all featuring. Notably, 'Espresso' arrived exactly two years on from its original release, which coincided with Carpenter's previous Coachella appearance. At that earlier performance, she had told the audience she would be back to headline. Reflecting on that bold prediction during Friday's set, Carpenter said, "If I said that and I didn't headline, it'd be pretty fucking awkward."
The production's final act shifted into a marquee-filled tribute to old Hollywood, rounding out an evening built around spectacle and cinematic flair.
