The "Desi" Coachella

The 2025 Coachella featured six South Asian musicians, including Charli XCX, whose mother is from India. These performers included Indowarehouse, Hanumankind, Glass Beams, Sammy Virji, and Indria Paganotto. Last year, one of my favorite Punjabi artists, Diljit Dosanjh, performed at Coachella. Indowarehouse is a fusion of South Asian cultural heritage with contemporary house and techno beats. I will be attending their concert in a month, and I am super excited!

(Video credit: Instagram: @Indowarehouse)

Indowarehouse brought bhangra and garba dancers on stage during their set. Bhangra is a vibrant folk dance and music style originating from Punjab. Garba is another folk dance that originates from Gujarat. I think it was important for their set to showcase dances from India as it brings another aspect of our culture on a global level.

(Video Credit: TikTok: @rapsource.daily)

Hanumankind is a rapper who shot to fame with his hit song "Big Dawgs." During his performance at Coachella, he wowed the crowd by bringing in Chenda Melam drummers. This traditional percussion group from Kerala, a state in South India, added amazing energy to his new song, "Run it Up." The whole set was just electric!

(Image Credit: The Guardian)

I have to admit, I only recently discovered Glass Beams, and they’re quite fascinating! They’re this Indian-Australian duo of multi-instrumentalists who perform while wearing these stunning glass masks adorned with golden jewels. Their music is a unique fusion of psychedelic rock and funk, along with some instrumental rock. They even weave in elements from Eastern music traditions and take inspiration from Indian classical tunes, plus the vibrant disco and pop sounds of the 1970s.

I recently got into Sammy Virji, who primarily focuses on UK Garage. It's a genre of music I just discovered, and I find it really interesting. It's kind of similar to house music but definitely its own thing within the EDM scene. One track I really recommend is "Dionne Warwick's "Forever My Love" (Sammy Virji edit)"; it's one of my favorites from his set! Also, I learned that Indria Paganotto is from Goa (a state in India), which is where my mom is from! Her dad was a DJ there, so I feel like maybe it’s in my genes to love her music. I'm even putting on a show on the radio sometime before I graduate! Anyway, back to Indria—her sound is often described as energetic techno with a blend of psytrance and acid techno. She even came up with the term "psy-techno" to sum up her unique style.

This year, Coachella featured a strong South Asian lineup, especially from artists who are less mainstream. I saw so many TikToks of people wearing Indo-Western outfits as well, which made me very excited!