NEWS
David Lee Roth made an unexpected appearance at the Stagecoach Festival on Saturday evening, stepping onto the stage with Teddy Swims to perform “Jump,” the iconic 1984 hit by Van Halen.
During his Stagecoach set, Swims welcomed Roth after running through his recent single “Mr. Know It All” along with “Some Things I’ll Never Know,” both taken from his debut studio album I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 1), which arrived in September 2023.
This moment marked the third straight festival where the two have shared the stage. Swims previously invited Roth out during recent sets at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, where he introduced him as “David Lee Roth from the best band of all time, Van Halen,” before they kicked into “Jump” together.
The latest performance unfolded during a chaotic night at Stagecoach, as strong winds earlier in the evening led to a temporary evacuation of the grounds and forced several changes to the schedule, including removing artists such as Journey and Riley Green from the lineup.
The evacuation came after powerful gusts swept through the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, the site of the festival. An “emergency evacuation” notice appeared on screens across the venue, urging attendees to “move quickly and calmly to the nearest exit,” while alerts sent through the festival’s official app instructed people to clear the area.
The interruption impacted several stages, with the Mane Stage sitting between sets when the evacuation alert was issued. Wind conditions had been intensifying throughout the day, with stronger gusts arriving in the evening as part of a regional wind advisory.
Even with the disruption, Swims’ set ultimately continued, and Roth’s surprise appearance stood out as one of the biggest highlights of the night as fans returned once the festival resumed.
Stagecoach, one of the largest country music festivals in the United States, takes place every year at the same location as the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and regularly draws tens of thousands of fans.
Not for the first time, Moby is speaking out against Donald Trump’s administration with clear frustration.
“The U.S. is collapsing under a deeply corrupt and shockingly ineffective administration,” the longtime electronic musician shared on social media. “These are unbelievably dark times.”
Moby went deeper into his thoughts through a video message, where he explained that people outside the United States keep asking Americans what is actually happening in the country.
“So many of my friends outside the United States keep asking me, ‘what the hell is happening over there?’ And honestly, we don’t even know,” he said. “The country is being controlled by one of the most corrupt, dangerous and incompetent administrations imaginable. Nobody fully understands what’s happening right now. These are very dark times in America.”
Moby joins a growing list of artists publicly criticizing Trump and MAGA politics, including Bruce Springsteen, Jack White, Eminem and Billie Eilish.
Earlier this year, Moby uploaded another statement to social media where he addressed how people should respond following the killing of Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis. “The real question isn’t whether people should feel horrified or outraged by what’s happening in the United States,” Moby explained in the Jan. 26 clip. “The question is what are we actually going to do about it?”
The musician and activist also encouraged people to protest, saying demonstrations are a constitutional right and something he believes Trump’s administration is attempting to weaken.
In the end, he urged people to vote regularly, “not only during the upcoming midterms, even though those matter, but also in every special election throughout the year.” He also encouraged supporters to “stop giving money to the scumbag corporations backing Trump and ICE. We all know who they are. Boycott them.”
His newest remarks arrive as the U.S. Justice Department unveils a nearly $1.8 billion compensation fund for Trump allies who claim they were unfairly investigated. At the same time, the Strait of Hormuz remains shut down following military action launched by the U.S. and Israel against Iran in late February without approval from Congress, leading to rising gas prices across the globe.
Throughout his independent music career, Moby has earned 10 entries on the Billboard 200 along with two songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and an enormous catalog of sync placements. Overseas, particularly in the United Kingdom, he is viewed as one of the defining artists of his era. He scored two No. 1 albums there with Play from 1999 and 18 from 2002, alongside 18 top 40 singles and two nominations for Best International Male at the BRIT Awards.
Check out Moby’s newest social media post below.
