At Coachella, Nine Inch Noize Staged a Nightmare Rave for the Ages

Kudos to Coachella for booking a nightmare rave on the same day as its biggest pop headliner. Taking the Sahara stage by (dust) storm on Saturday was Nine Inch Noize, the newly minted collaboration between Nine Inch Nails and producer Boys Noize. When the festival schedule was first announced, the shortened 45-minute set time and Sahara placement suggested the trio might simply expand on the B-stage segment from Nine Inch Nails’ recent “Peel It Back Tour,” with Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Boys Noize clustered around DJ equipment and delivering throbbing reinterpretations of Nine Inch Nails favorites.

Instead, with a new album arriving next Friday, they raised the stakes and delivered a heavily stylized, riveting performance. One of the most striking elements was a troupe of dancers who populated the stage, crawling, creeping, and slinking around the band as they played. In one moment, they moved like a single amoeba before fracturing into chaos; in another, they became a kind of living light rig, converging in perfect sync and then breaking apart again. At times they resembled humanoid creatures, pulling at Reznor and dragging him toward their pit during “Closer,” then eventually swarming the stage like a zombie horde by the set’s conclusion. Nine Inch Nails shows are not typically defined by choreography, which made it an especially inspired production choice and one that added a jolt of drama to the performance.

Fortunately, the music proved just as captivating as the staging. These reworked Nine Inch Nails songs remained faithful enough to their original forms, but often splintered into violent bursts of noise, making already punishing tracks like “Heresy” feel even more terrifying and raw. The set had its dance-forward moments, but this was hardly a sunshine-and-rainbows, good-vibes affair at Sahara. With Mariqueen Maandig also part of the live configuration, the performance felt even more immersive and fully realized than a side-project detour might have suggested. It was a display of cathartic intensity, and a potent showcase for Reznor and company’s singular gift for controlled chaos. Production-wise, it was remarkable to see Nine Inch Nails outdo even the dazzling presentation of the “Peel It Back Tour.” Rather than settling for a glorified DJ set, Nine Inch Noize delivered one of Coachella 2026’s most memorable performances.

Nine Inch Noize Coachella Setlist:
Vessel (Nine Inch Nails song) (with Mariqueen Maandig)
She’s Gone Away (Nine Inch Nails song) (with Mariqueen Maandig)
Heresy (Nine Inch Nails song) (with Mariqueen Maandig)
Parasite (How to Destroy Angels cover) (with Mariqueen Maandig)
Copy of A (Nine Inch Nails song)
Me, I’m Not (Nine Inch Nails song)
Closer (Nine Inch Nails song)
The Warning (Nine Inch Nails song)
Memorabilia (Soft Cell cover)
Came Back Haunted (Nine Inch Nails song) (with Mariqueen Maandig)
As Alive as You Need Me to Be (Nine Inch Nails song) (with Mariqueen Maandig)