Bernie Sanders stunned a crowd of thousands at Coachella Saturday night with an unannounced appearance that interrupted a weekend dominated by Hip-Hop heavyweights and high-energy sets.
Just before indie artist Clairo took the stage, the 82-year-old senator from Vermont walked out to roaring applause.
His appearance caught festivalgoers off guard in the middle of a lineup that included Missy Elliott, GloRilla, Yeat, Three 6 Mafia, Machine Gun Kelly, Wiz Khalifa and Travis Scott.
Introduced by Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida, Sanders used his brief time on stage to deliver a pointed message about activism, inequality and the role of young people in shaping the country’s future.
“The future of what happens to America is dependent on your generation. Now you can turn away and you can ignore what goes on, but if you do that, you do it at your own peril. We need you to stand up and fight for justice. Fight for economic justice, social justice and racial justice,” Bernie Sanders said, drawing cheers.
The crowd erupted when Sanders mentioned former President Donald Trump, prompting loud boos.
Earlier that day, Sanders spoke with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at a rally in downtown Los Angeles as part of his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, which focuses on corporate greed, climate change and economic reform.
Bernie Sanders made a surprise appearance at Coachella 2025 last night.
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) April 13, 2025
So he went from the LA rally to Coachella. He's 83 and fighting like this. This should be an inspiration to all of us. If he can do this, we can all do a little more. pic.twitter.com/yOx76zK7Ni