Travis Scott, and the FAMU Marching 100, electrifies crowd at Coachella 2025

In a historic fusion of hip-hop and HBCU tradition, Travis Scott’s 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival set featured show-stopping performances by FAMU's Marching 100 and the Jackson State University band. The two-weekend concert, April 11-13 and April 18-20, in the California desert with the Marching 100 and Travis Scott's performance taking place last night.  

The first weekend of the event drew over 250,000 attendees.  Scott's avant-garde production was amplified by the iconic brass and energy of the Marching 100. 

The collaboration traces its roots back to early February, when Scott, 33, took to social media to express his desire for an HBCU band to join his Coachella headline slot. The Marching 100 swiftly responded with a viral video of their rendition of Scott’s 2025 hit “4x4,” complete with intricate formations. The clip, which amassed millions of views, sealed their selection.

“This is bigger than a performance—it’s a cultural moment,” said a Coachella spokesperson. The bands joined together to open the set performing an original arrangement of Scott's new hit song "4x4" .   The bands stuck around on stage performing the rapper’s high-octane tracks like "SKELETONS", “FE!N” and “SICKO MODE” with him.

Coachella, a cultural juggernaut since 1999, has increasingly highlighted HBCU talent since Beyonce's ground breaking 2018 set at the event, but this marked the first time two HBCU bands shared the main stage with an artist. The Marching 100, renowned for their appearances at Super Bowls, presidential inaugurations, and two trips marquee trips to Paris, France, for Bastille Day and a Louis Vuitton fashion show with Kendrick Lamar. 

As fireworks lit the desert sky, Scott closed the set by thanking the bands, declaring, “Y’all just witnessed history.” The collaboration has already sparked speculation about HBCU bands headlining future festivals—proof that the lines between hip-hop and heritage are not just blurred but brilliantly reinvented.

Coachella 2025 trended globally post-show, with clips of the performance racking up 12 million views in under an hour.