Japanese group Atarashii Gakko! (新しい学校のリーダーズ) has been confirmed for Coachella 2027, returning to the California festival three years after their debut there. According to the announcement, they will perform on Friday, April 9 and Friday, April 16, and are billed as the first Japanese female artist to appear at Coachella for a second time.
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival takes place in Indio, California, across two weekends: April 9-11 and April 16-18, 2027. Dua Lipa, SZA and Tame Impala are among the headliners announced for the lineup.
Atarashii Gakko! first played the festival in 2024, closing the GOBI Stage on both weekends. US outlet B-Sides named them among the notable acts of that year’s festival and said they “brought the house down.” Another outlet, The Luna Collective, ran a review titled to the effect that rebels from Tokyo, unbound by genre, had conquered Coachella.
In a statement, the group said they had “screamed” on hearing the news. They said the world they felt at Coachella in 2024 has stayed burned into their memories, and that a second appearance had seemed impossible, yet it was a hope they held on to. Having been through a world tour and having released their new album From Tokyo with Love, they said they are returning as a “richer, thicker” Atarashii Gakko!, and promised to “break through the limits of youth.” They closed with their signature call-and-response, “Oi AG!”
What else is on the group’s schedule
The group is in the middle of a Japanese Zepp tour, From AG! with Love, covering five cities this month: Tokyo, Sapporo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka. Zepp venues are mid-sized live houses popular for major J-pop and rock tours.
In December they will launch their first Latin America tour, with shows in Santiago, Chile (December 3, Teatro Caupolicán), São Paulo, Brazil (December 6, at Primavera Sound São Paulo) and Mexico City (December 8, Velódromo Olímpico).
Who is Atarashii Gakko!?
Atarashii Gakko! (新しい学校のリーダーズ, literally “New School Leaders”) is a Japanese dance and vocal group whose act plays on the image of the Japanese school uniform, pairing sailor-style outfits with energetic choreography and bold, genre-mixing music. Their international profile has grown through overseas touring and festival appearances, including their 2024 Coachella debut, which drew praise from foreign music media.
Author’s Comment
Let me be clear: in a country where idol groups usually get polished into the same smooth shape, four girls in sailor uniforms shouting about the limits of youth went and conquered Coachella, and now they’re doing it again. I love it. Japan’s music industry spent years wondering how to export itself, and the answer turned out to be ‘let the weird ones loose.’ So, industry people, take notes. And honey, a Latin America tour right before Coachella? That’s not a schedule, that’s a victory lap with jet lag.
