Pop Stars Steal the Show at Big Music Festivals in 2025

Music festivals across America now put pop acts front and center, marking a stark shift from their rock-focused past. From Chicago's streets to Texas fields, the change rings clear across a spectrum of major festivals.

At Coachella 2025, Lady Gaga headlined with hard-hitting rock takes on "Abracadabra" and her signature "Poker Face." Later, at Austin City Limits, fans watched Sabrina Carpenter command the main stage next to The Strokes, while The Chicks jumped in for an unplanned duet.

Looking back at Lollapalooza's start in 1991, Jane's Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, and Siouxsie and the Banshees ruled the day with their rock sets. By 2005, when the fest planted roots in Grant Park, The Killers, Weezer, and Pixies topped the bill.

This year broke the mold. At Newport Folk Festival, where Bob Dylan once strummed his guitar, Lana Del Rey took the stage. Such shifts point to new winds blowing through the music world.

"I'm not having hip-hop at Glastonbury. It's wrong," Noel Gallagher of Oasis once said about genre changes at festivals, per Uproxx. Jay-Z shot back by playing "Wonderwall" on guitar during his historic first hip-hop headline set at the UK fest.

When Olivia Rodrigo brought Weezer on stage at Lollapalooza, crowds went wild. The day's lineup jumped from Charli XCX's pop to Korn's metal, showing how music walls have crumbled.

The shift could be credited to how streaming has changed the way fans find music. People now skip between styles without thinking twice, and festivals match this new way of listening. The old rules about what belongs where don't matter anymore.

While some events stay true to one style — Tomorrowland keeps its electronic beats, Rolling Loud sticks to hip-hop — the biggest U.S. festivals now mix it up. They've turned into musical melting pots where any sound can shine.