5 Coachella Afternoon Sets That Will Be Better Than the Headliners

But if radio pop is your thing, and you don’t care to expand your live music experiences beyond Top 40, feel free to move on.

There’s a certain kind of Coachella regret that hits different: realizing the best sets of the weekend happened before 5 p.m. You know, the kind of bands that go supernova years later, and you always have that one friend saying, “I remember seeing them at Coachella in the afternoon when it was hot AF.” If you’ve followed Grimy Goods for any of the 18 years we’ve been publishing these pages, you already know we’re all about spotlighting artists before they blow up, before the crowd catches on, and before the sun goes down. We’ve been covering Coachella since 2009, and I’ve personally been attending since 2006. While these days we’d rather catch these bands and artists we write about in small venues, than at modern-day Coachella, we’re always gonna steer y’all in the right direction when it comes to discovering up-and-coming artists and incredible music that isn’t traditional pop.

This year, we’re steering you in the direction of five artists playing the Sonora stage and beyond—intentional, loud, and built for people who actually show up early.

P.s. We’ve covered the live shows of all these acts.

1. Die Spitz

When: Saturday, April 11 — 2:00 p.m.
Stage: Sonora

This is your “get there early or regret it” set. Die Spitz are a heavy slice of badass: fast, loud, and completely unpolished in the best way. With serrated riffs, throat-shredding vocals, and zero regard for personal space, they turn any stage upside down. When we caught Die Spitz last year at the Constellation Room with only 200 people or so, the floor shook as everyone jumped up and down. And as the night went on, a large mosh pit opened up with people spinning all around and bouncing off one another.

2:00 p.m. might feel brutal under the Coachella sun, but this is when the Sonora tent becomes a pressure cooker. If you want that basement-show energy at a massive festival, this is it.

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2. Freak Slug

When: Saturday, April 11 — 3:10 p.m.
Stage: Sonora

Freak Slug slides into the Coachella afternoon like a warped daydream you didn’t know you needed, all gauzy textures and off-center charm that feel tailor-made for golden hour but just weird enough to keep things interesting. Unfortunately, it won’t be golden hour during her indie/psych-pop set, so expect a bright, sweaty fever dream throughout. There’s a slacker-pop looseness to Freak Slug’s sound, but don’t get it twisted—it’s intentional, with lines that feel personal, and just a tad unhinged. Expect the kind of show that pulls you in slowly (literally under her “Spells”) until you realize you’ve been fully hypnotized, swaying in the heat with that iconic Ferris wheel in your gaze and zero desire to leave.

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3. Ecca Vandal

When: Saturday, April 11 — 4:20 p.m.
Stage: Sonora

To say we LOVE Ecca Vandal would be an understatement. From her gritty voice, unique style, and infectious dance moves, Ecca commands a stage as if she’d been doing it for decades. We recently witnessed her performance at Camp Flog Gnaw and her L.A. debut at El Cid, and can confirm she’s one of the best alternative acts to hit the scene in recent years. Blending punk, hip-hop, and electronic into something that hits hardest live, Ecca Vandal refuses to stay in one lane. As we mentioned in our Artists You Should Know video feature, Ecca has a gritty punk edge (and voice) that reminds of Brody Dalle of The Distillers, however, with the cool electro hip hop vibes of M.I.A.

If you’re new to Ecca Vandal, you’re welcome. Flag Coachella as her breakout moment, where she’ll likely deliver one of the most high-voltage sets of the day.

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4. Model/Actriz

When: Sunday, April 12 — 3:10 p.m.
Stage: Sonora

Model/Actriz don’t just blur the line between performance and spectacle, they obliterate it and give fans something immersive. In one moment, they could be leaning into darkwave. In another, they veer into eerie noise rock, theatrics, all of it. Their sound is full of pulse and tension, a collision of industrial beats and razor-wire guitars that feels like stumbling into a basement rave mid-meltdown. There’s something seductive and dangerous about the way they move through a set, equal parts art-school provocation and full-body release, making them the band most likely to turn an early-day crowd into something feral and unforgettable.

As Alex of Nation of Language said in a past Grimy Goods interview, “watching them (Model/Actriz) unspool their bacchic, vaudevillian no-wave tableaus is a singular pleasure.”

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5. Little Simz

When: Sunday, April 12 — 4:25 p.m.
Stage: Mojave

If you’ve been sleeping on Little Simz, consider this your wake-up call before she levels the Mojave, because catching her at Coachella means witnessing one of the sharpest, most dynamic voices in hip-hop at full power. Simz is already a superstar, selling out tours and releasing the best albums, but many people still don’t know about this gem.

Grimy Goods has long championed Simz as a “powerful wordsmith” with rapidfire delivery and fearless storytelling that actually says something, not just fills space—and live, that energy hits even harder. Her recent L.A. show had her running through bangers like “Venom” and “Gorilla,” commanding the crowd for two straight hours with pure charisma and control. Add in her reputation as one of the best lyricists in the game, weaving introspection, politics, and self-liberation into razor-sharp verses—you’ve got the kind of artist who doesn’t just perform; she speaks with intention.

Bottom line: if you want substance, bars, and a set that actually moves you, not just makes noise, Little Simz is the one you need to see.

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Why These Sets Matter

Coachella’s real magic has always lived in the undercard, especially with Coachella these days, where the headliners are almost always Top 40 pop acts. Grimy Goods has made a name for itself in supporting the lesser-known acts, and we hope you screenshot this post and add each of these acts to your schedule. We promise you a grand time, especially if you like to wild out, make new friends, and feel that intimate community vibe you can only get from being at an underground show.

From 2:00 p.m. chaos with Die Spitz to the pre-sunset surge of Little Simz, these are the sets that define the weekend before the headliners even step on stage.

So yes, show up early and non-stop hydrate. Wander into Sonora when the crowd is still thin. Because the most promising sets of the weekend probably aren’t the ones with the biggest names. It’s the one you almost missed.

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