Benson Boone didn’t have to ask the crowd to ‘please, stay’ at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio on Friday. He had them eating from the palm of his hand.
Between at least four backflips, two outfit changes and a performance jam-packed with surprises, the “Beautiful Things” hitmaker pulled out all the stops for his debut Coachella performance.
Toward the end of the Grammy-nominated artist’s energetic set, he announced his sophomore album “American Heart” would drop this year on June 20 to a massive crowd of screaming fans.
@the.socal.local Benson Boone announces his sophomore album “American Heart” will come out on June 20 during his Coachella performance on the main stage. #bensonboone #americanheart #coachella #coachella2025
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As if the audience wasn’t already hyped enough, Boone then took the stage for his next song, donning a monarch’s imperial robe before breaking into Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” He embodied Freddie Mercury with his range and stage presence, but then, in a uniquely Boone move, he dropped the robe before hitting one of his signature backflips, at least his third of the night. Underneath the robe? A bedazzled one-piece pantsuit, naturally.
He was surrounded by choir singers in white robes who sang the background and headbanged when the song flips from pained ballad to hair metal.
@the.socal.local Benson Boone surprise the crowd at the Coachella Main Stage by bringing out Queen guitarist Brian May to perform Bohemian Rhapsody. #coachella #coachella2025 #brianmay #queen #bensonboone #bohemianrhapsody
The highlight of the performance, though, was Boone’s surprise guest. Queen guitarist Brian May rose from a platform below the stage to play the iconic guitar riffs alongside Boone. The crowd was screaming and crying and pyrotechnics shot from the edge of the stage.
He ended his set with “Beautiful Things,” the song that catapulted him to stardom and gave it its due credit. Then he did one final flip off the stage and called it a night.
@the.socal.local Benson Boone does a final flip off the stage to greet the Coachella crowd #coachella #coachella2025 #bensonboone #beautifulthings