The annual country music festival kicks off tomorrow.


A view of the Stagecoach festival in 2017.

Yeehaw! It’s time to dust off your cowboy hats, western boots and “Daisy Dukes” — because Stagecoach 2026 is ‘bout to kick off.

Country music aficionados will flock to Indio, Calif., this weekend, where they’ll be serenaded by their favorite country artists at the Empire Polo Club, where the 2026 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival wrapped up last weekend. With an array of country stars, both renowned and rising, Stagecoach 2026 is shaping up to be an unforgettable one.

Tomorrow, Cody Johnson will serve as the festival’s first headliner. Fresh off the release of his new track “Rabbit Gets the Gun” with Jay Buchanan, the lead singer of the rock band Rival Sons, Johnson will be making his first Stagecoach appearance since 2022.

Also headlining is Lainey Wilson, who will close out the second day of Stagecoach. The Whirlwind singer teased what fans can expect from her highly anticipated set, which is scheduled for Saturday.

“I don't need to say too much, I'll be telling you too much, but it's really cool,” Wilson told People. “I think it's definitely going to be an elevated show. I feel like we're getting to play some stuff that we haven't played in a minute, and it's going to be a fun show.”

And finally, Post Malone will close out the festival on Sunday, when he takes the stage for his first-ever performance as a Stagecoach headliner. The Grammy-winning artist, who's currently on tour with Jelly Roll and Carter Faith as part of the Big Ass Stadium Tour, made his Stagecoach debut with an acclaimed set in 2024.

Below, Yahoo’s breaking down everything you need to know about the annual country music festival — from its star-studded roster of performers to speculated special guests.

Yahoo will be in attendance at this year's Stagecoach. Follow Yahoo Entertainment (@yahooentertainment) for more.

????? Country music takes over Indio, Calif.
Stagecoach Music Festival, the world’s biggest country music festival, is taking place this year from Friday, April 24 to Sunday, April 26. Held annually at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif., the same venue as the Coachella Music and Arts Festival, the festival will feature performances from primarily country, bluegrass, Americana, folk and rock artists across three days. The first-ever Stagecoach Festival was in 2007.

???? How Stagecoach differs from Coachella
While both Stagecoach and Coachella take place at the same venue in Indio, Calif., the festivals differ in a few ways. For one, Coachella’s larger lineup generally encompasses a wider range of acts across several genres, while Stagecoach is mostly dedicated to spotlighting country and country-adjacent artists. Coachella also spans back-to-back weekends, while Stagecoach is one weekend only.

The difference in attendees is also worth noting. Whereas Coachella has a reputation as a celebrity- and influencer-heavy hotspot — A-listers like the Kardashian-Jenner clan, Timothée Chalamet, Hailey Bieber, Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish were among the celebrities spotted at this year’s festival — Stagecoach is seen as more lowkey.

But that doesn’t mean celebs don’t attend Stagecoach: Justin Bieber, Sydney Sweeney, Paris Hilton and Lana Del Rey are just a few of the famous faces who were seen at last year’s festival.

???? Wait. How does Bachelor Nation factor into this?
Stagecoach has also proven to be a tried-and-true meet-up spot for Bachelor Nation, the contestants who’ve appeared on The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and its spinoffs. Nick Viall, Tyler Cameron, Jenn Tran, Kaity Biggar, Lea Cayanan and Charity Lawson are just a handful of the former contestants who attended last year’s festival.

While the exact reason why so many Bachelor Nation stars flock to the desert for Stagecoach every year remains unknown, fans of the franchise speculate that it’s because many of them are influencers who were sent there by brands they’re working with. That, or they’re just really big country music fans!

???? Teddy Swims, Little Big Town, Diplo and Pitbull among the performers
Well, this year’s Stagecoach lineup is a doozy. In addition to having Cody Johnson, Lainey Wilson and Post Malone as headliners, the 2026 roster also boasts Teddy Swims, Little Big Town, Bailey Zimmerman, Counting Crows, Journey, Brooks & Dunn and Hootie & the Blowfish, to name a few. Fans can also expect performances from artists including Diplo, Pitbull and Ludacris.

Ella Langley is a female country artist who’s having a major mainstream moment. Langley nabbed her breakthrough moment in 2024, when “You Look Like You Love Me,” her duet with Riley Green, went viral on TikTok. The 26-year-old singer-songwriter’s track “Choosin’ Texas” also held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks earlier this year, dethroning Taylor Swift, who set the record in 2012.

Langley will be making her Stagecoach debut tomorrow, the same day her new duet with Morgan Wallen, “I Can’t Love You Anymore,” is set to be released. Her first Stagecoach performance also coincides with the release of her first fragrance, Be Her, which Langley announced on Instagram on Thursday.

Stagecoach performers generally don’t disclose who they’ll bring out as special guests before they take the stage. While not every artist brings out guests, it’s common for some of the higher-billed acts to do so. Fans are speculating — and hoping — that Morgan Wallen and Miranda Lambert are brought out as special guests.

If this year’s festival is anything like last year’s, fans will have a lot to look forward to. Last year, Luke Combs sent his crowd into a frenzy when he brought out Garth Brooks and Good Charlotte for “Friends in Low Places.” Grammy-winning rapper Jelly Roll brought out a whopping nine guests during his headlining set, which included Lana Del Rey, Shaboozey, Alex Warren and Wiz Khalifa. Zach Bryan’s set featured appearances from Noeline Hofmann and Willow Avalon.

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Posted by Temmy
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