This past weekend, mega pop-star Sabrina Carpenter kicked off weekend one of the Coachella music festival in Indio, California, with her headlining set. From multiple outfit changes, pop culture references, and celebrity cameos, here is everything you need to know about Carpenter’s almost two-hour-long show that brought the glamor of Hollywood to the desert.
SABRINAWOOD, Carpenter’s self-proclaimed name for her set, follows a storyline of fame and trying to make it in show business throughout the performance.
The show opens with a pre-recorded black-and-white scene of Carpenter getting pulled over by a police officer, played by legendary actor Sam Elliott, before transitioning to Carpenter at a drive-in theatre set, now live. Carpenter begins in a red sequin mini dress with a matching red pea coat, one of the five outfits she wore during the set, all custom-made by luxury fashion brand Dior. She “arrives” in Hollywood and the playback footage on the screens transitions from black-and-white to color, a reference to The Wizard of Oz. She walks across the stage and lights up the stars on a mockup of the Hollywood Walk of Fame (her own sort of yellow brick road).
She opens with “House Tour,” a song from her latest album Man’s Best Friend, which recently dropped a music video starring Madelyn Cline and Margaret Qualley, followed by “Taste” and “Busy Woman” off of her 2024 album Short and Sweet. Her lead single from Man’s Best Friend, “Manchild,” is performed alongside a surrealist bunch of male backup dancers dressed as pink poodles and dalmatians, a nod to the canine theme of Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend album. Carpenter’s “character” then gets signed by a talent agent, and we get her first outfit change. Bridging the transition to the next act, actress Susan Sarandon, best known for her role in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, appears as an older version of Carpenter, delivering a 7-minute monologue looking back on her career, a representation of Carpenter’s character looking back at her younger self.
Other notable celebrity appearances include Will Ferrell coming onstage as an electrician and Samuel L. Jackson making a voice cameo as Carpenter’s spiritual guide.
Channelling her inner disco diva, Carpenter reappears in a gold sequin mini dress with flowing champagne-colored chiffon sleeves. “When Did You Get Hot” is performed next, followed by “Please Please Please” in a 70s recording booth style set. “We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night” is performed sitting at a piano, still in the recording studio set. Carpenter’s character realises she’s lonely in this new place and laments unluckiness in love through a rendition of “Nobody’s Son” while sitting at a bar counter, followed by “Because I liked A Boy” and “My Man On Willpower.”
For her third outfit of the night, Carpenter sports an athletic chic retro ensemble, a cobalt blue turtleneck with a black leotard and tights. She performs “Go Go Juice” and “Such a Funny Way.” Then she falls for a costar and performs an intimate rendition of “Sugar Talking” with one of the male dancers. The chemistry is palpable, and the choreography calls back to 1987’s Dirty Dancing. Sadly, Carpenter’s love interest leaves Hollywood, and she’s alone again, performing “Don’t Smile,” a song about the sadness of a relationship being over.
But forget about him! Carpenter goes full-on showgirl in the next act with a fringe two-piece white lingerie set alongside back-up dancers in full-length gloves, bejewelled black sets, and lots and lots of feathers. Naturally, the next tune is her song “Feather.” “I feel so much lighter like a feather with you off my mind, ah”, now that her love interest has left and she’s focused on her career again. Alongside her dancers, she performs a burlesque rendition of “Bed Chem” before changing into a stunning black-lace bodysuit with a structured fan-like back piece. “Juno” is performed next, followed by “Espresso.” The whole set has now been transformed with a dazzling cityscape, marquees, and bright lights–Carpenter’s character has made it to the big leagues.
Fittingly, her second-to-last song is “Goodbye,” before closing out the show with “Tears,” performed on top of a car-seat fountain, before driving off through the crowd.
As a headliner, Carpenter is set to perform again next Friday. Likely, she will be performing the same setlist and general storyline, but I’m sure we can expect different colour variations of her outfits, new cameos, and a few extra surprises she might have in store for weekend two.