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California’s spring concert season is shaping up to be one for the books. Whether you’re into massive music festivals, legendary rock acts, or intimate shows by indie darlings, the Golden State has something that’ll make your heart race this season. Let’s be real, there’s so much happening between March and May that you might need to clear your calendar.
🎤 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival – Indio, CA
The festival returns April 10–12 and April 17–19, 2026, with headliners Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber, and Karol G, making this the 25th edition of one of the world’s most iconic music gatherings. It sold out within a week of its announcement, which honestly should surprise no one.
The lineup includes additional sets from the XX, the Strokes, Addison Rae, Young Thug and BIGBANG, creating what might be one of the most diverse festival lineups in recent memory. The thing is, Coachella somehow manages to blend pop royalty with underground favorites seamlessly. Nine Inch Nails will also perform at the festival, adding industrial rock firepower to the weekend mix.
What makes this year special? Carpenter played a sunset set on the main stage in 2024, manifesting her return as a headliner during her performance. That kind of full-circle moment is what festival dreams are made of.
🎸 Nine Inch Nails – Peel It Back Tour
Nine Inch Nails brings their Peel It Back Tour 2026 to the Honda Center in Anaheim on March 10, followed by performances at San Francisco’s Chase Center on March 15. This isn’t just any industrial rock show.
The “Peel It Back” tour was one of the most thrilling concert experiences of 2025, so much so that the band was named Live Act of the Year, and Trent Reznor and company are set to run it back with a new North American leg. Here’s the thing about this tour – it’s not just about the music. The concert’s staging displays visuals of rain, moving silhouettes, and dramatic curtain drops, with recording done by hand-held cinematography, and using displays 3D projected onto translucent fabric.
Rock fans who’ve waited years to catch Nine Inch Nails live shouldn’t sleep on this one. The production alone makes it worth the ticket price.
🎻 David Byrne – An Evening With
David Byrne will return to the Santa Barbara Bowl on April 14, 2026, bringing his unique blend of art-rock and theatrical brilliance to the intimate outdoor venue. The show is part of the second leg of his “Who is The Sky” tour, which has been widely celebrated and acclaimed.
If you’ve never experienced a David Byrne show, imagine a concert that feels more like performance art meets musical genius. Byrne’s latest record, ‘Who Is the Sky?’, was produced by Kid Harpoon and arranged by Ghost Train Orchestra, marking his first solo release since 2018’s American Utopia. Byrne will hit the road with a 13-person band made up of musicians, singers, and dancers, creating a spectacle that transcends the typical concert experience.
The Santa Barbara Bowl setting only enhances what promises to be a magical evening. It’s one of those shows that might just change how you think about live music.
🎶 Disclosure Live – Santa Barbara Bowl
The electronic music duo Disclosure is hitting the Santa Barbara Bowl stage for back-to-back nights in April. While the exact dates haven’t been widely publicized yet, the announcement has already created buzz among electronic music fans throughout California.
Disclosure’s live performances have evolved dramatically over the years. They’ve moved from DJ sets to full-blown live band experiences, incorporating vocalists and instrumentalists into shows that feel more like dance parties than traditional concerts. Their blend of house, garage, and UK bass music creates an atmosphere that’s both intimate and explosive.
The Santa Barbara Bowl’s open-air setting makes it an ideal venue for their sound. There’s something about electronic music under the stars that just hits differently.
🎤 James Taylor – An Evening With James Taylor
James Taylor performs a spring set at the Santa Barbara Bowl in May. The legendary singer-songwriter needs little introduction – his catalog of classics spans decades and has soundtracked countless lives.
What’s remarkable about Taylor at this stage of his career is how his voice has matured without losing its warmth. Shows typically feature a mix of greatest hits and deeper album cuts, all delivered with the kind of storytelling and musicianship that only comes from someone who’s been perfecting their craft for over fifty years.
These intimate evening performances tend to sell quickly, as Taylor’s fanbase remains devoted and multigenerational. Expect acoustic guitar mastery, warm anecdotes, and songs that’ll transport you back to whatever moment in your life they first soundtracked.
🎵 YUNGBLUD: IDOLS – The World Tour
British alt-rock star YUNGBLUD plays the iconic Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on May 22, bringing his high-energy chaos to one of LA’s most beloved venues. This tour includes stops at the biggest venues he’s ever played, with the Los Angeles show at the Greek Theatre being a significant milestone.
YUNGBLUD is back on the road in support of his brand-new album IDOLS, which showcases his genre-blending approach that pulls from rock, pop, hip-hop, and grime. If you’ve never caught a YUNGBLUD show, prepare yourself. His woke worldview, young and loyal fanbase, as well as undeniable talent create a truly modern pop star.
The Greek Theatre’s amphitheater setting will contain the energy of what promises to be a sweaty, cathartic experience. YUNGBLUD shows aren’t just concerts – they’re communal experiences where fans feel seen and heard.
🎙️ Father John Misty – 2026 Tour (CA Dates)
Indie favorite Father John Misty hits multiple California cities on his spring tour kickoff, including Ventura and San Francisco. Josh Tillman’s alter ego has become one of the most compelling live performers in indie rock, combining sardonic wit with genuine emotional vulnerability.
Father John Misty concerts are known for their unpredictability. Some nights feature extended monologues between songs that feel like stand-up comedy routines. Other nights, the focus is purely on the music, letting the arrangements breathe and the melodies soar. You never quite know which version of the performance you’ll get, which makes every show feel unique.
His catalog has grown deep enough that setlists vary dramatically from night to night. Whether he leans into the folk-rock of his earlier work or the orchestral ambition of his more recent albums, the result is always captivating. California fans have long embraced Father John Misty’s particular brand of existential crooning, making these home-state shows feel especially charged.
Final Thoughts
Spring 2026 in California offers an embarrassment of musical riches. From Coachella’s desert spectacle to intimate theater shows, from industrial rock legends to indie eccentrics, the concert calendar reads like a music lover’s fever dream.
The beauty of California’s spring concert season is the variety. You could catch Nine Inch Nails’ apocalyptic industrial assault one weekend and James Taylor’s gentle folk storytelling the next. You could dance to Disclosure’s house beats at the Santa Barbara Bowl, then scream along with YUNGBLUD at the Greek Theatre days later.
What makes these shows special isn’t just the artists – it’s the venues, the weather, the energy that comes with California springtime. These are the concerts people will still be talking about years from now, the shows that become stories you tell about that perfect weekend when everything aligned.
Which one are you most excited about? Are you team festival or team intimate venue?
Besides founding Festivaltopia, Luca is the co founder of trib, an art and fashion collectiv you find on several regional events and online. Also he is part of the management board at HORiZONTE, a group travel provider in Germany.
