FKA twigs Forms Holy Terrain at Coachella 2026

From the first time I heard "Two Weeks" in 2014 to last year's double dose of Eusexua, I've always found FKA twigs to be one of the most inventive artists around. Her singular sound defies definition, evolving over time and incorporating elements of R&B, dance, trance, industrial, art pop, and so much more. In many ways, I consider her our generation's Björk: inspired by deep underground electronic music; high-concept visuals and fashion; occasional forays into the movie business; lyrics that detail heartache but also celebrate overcoming that pain.

Last year, twigs had to pull out of Coachella and several other US tour dates due to visa issues. So when this year's Coachella rolled around and the livestream schedule came out, twigs' set was one I earmarked straight away. Like Björk, every stage of FKA twigs' discography has come with a carefully-orchestrated rollout and new vision for her artistry. 2025's Eusexua and the subsequent Eusexua Afterglow felt especially considered: a celebration of rave culture and club kids that required two albums and a tracklist-altering reissue to tell its story, all in the span of a year. 

With that in mind, one couldn't fault twigs for using her Coachella set as a way to share her definition of Eusexua (a word she invented, by the way) with the world. And while she certainly did that on Sunday, her set felt like more than a summary of her current era, or even making up for last year's absence; rather, this was a fully-realized twigs and the culmination of everything her career has been building towards over the past decade-plus.

The set started with twigs alone on a bed, red braids twisted to look like a pair of headphones. She began not with Eusexua opener and title track, nor any track from the Eusexua era at all. Instead, she opted for "Meta Angel," a non-single off of 2022 mixtape Caprisongs. This more understated beginning swelled into the next song, another slightly deeper cut - "Figure 8," the tension-filled opening track to her astronomical-but-still-an-EP M3LL155X. From there, the set turned into a seventy-minute rave spanning twigs' entire career. Eusexua and Afterglow highlights like "Drums of Death" and "Hard" were present, as were a surprising number of cuts off Caprisongs (which this set has convinced me to re-evaluate). Waves of impressive choreography reminded us of twigs' roots; at one point, she pole danced with a sword tucked under her arm. The mix was relentless, each song bleeding into the next, and constant strobes kept the energy high. Even the interludes to allow costume changes were enthralling, as a full-on ball broke out at one point, once again hat-tipping the black and queer communities where the electronic music that inspired Eusexua originated.

With this set, twigs was successfully building the world in which eusexua is the norm, where "you're not a human anymore, you're just a feeling; pure nothingness but also pure focus." The kinetic energy that comes from a group experience and bonds everybody in a room, in many ways becoming a single entity. (The kind of unity that comes from, say, watching a phenomenal festival set.) By recreating a rave, twigs also recreated the way art builds community.

Then came the final number. After over an hour of thumping bass and flashing lights, everything was stripped away for "Cellophane," the emotional ballad that closes Magdalene and has in truth become twigs' signature song. The song is sparse - piano and twigs' whispery, pleading vocal accompanied only by piano for the first two-thirds of the song. The set dressing reflected this - dancers stepped away, a single spotlight lingered on twigs. Lyrically, the song is the absolute opposite of "eusexua," a heart-wrenching ballad about feeling isolated and that you weren't a good enough partner to a lost love. The refrain asks, "Didn't I do it for you?" Closing the set with such a stark reversal was a brilliant, deliberate choice, but - and call me naïve if you must - the next part didn't seem as planned. Just before the final part of the song, where the drums finally come in, twigs paused, seemingly about to cry. In that pause, the crowd roared as one. Lights came up, and twigs seemed almost startled as she looked out on the sea of cheering faces, telling her she had done it for them, that she was good enough, and that they were right there with her. Eusexua.

Now absolutely crying, twigs finished "Cellophane" and its beautiful final chorus and haunting coda. She retreated back to the bed on which she started with "Meta Angel," ostensibly alone but in actuality surrounded by the exact love and community she was seeking to create. At the end of the day we're all individuals with our own pains and insecurities, but the power art has to bring us together can't be overlooked. As "Cellophane" ended, twigs brought out her entire crew for a curtain call over the more upbeat "Lonely and Exciting Road," emphasizing once again the teamwork that goes into a show like this.

In a weekend full of great sets - shoutout PinkPantheress, Turnstile, Geese, and Sabrina - FKA twigs' set was my favorite. It had hits and deep cuts alike, energy, themeing, and spectacle. She continues to impress me at every turn, and my only regret is not being there in the desert with her.