Stagecoach 2025: Luke Combs, Backstreet Boys and the best of Day 3

This year’s edition of the annual Stagecoach country music festival is in the books. From Friday to Sunday, tens of thousands of fans traversed the dusty grounds of Indio’s Empire Polo Club, where the headliners were Zach Bryan, Jelly Roll and Luke Combs. I was there all weekend bringing you the highs and the lows as they happened. Here’s what went down on Day 3:

A ‘Friend’-ly finish

Combs completed Stagecoach’s run of burly, bearded headliners with a characteristically solid set that mixed his hard-rocking power country hits with a handful of the sentimental ballads he said he adores despite the fact that “people say I sing too many love songs.” Wearing jeans, boots and one of his trademark short-sleeved Columbia button-down shirts, Combs strung together country-radio staples including “1, 2 Many,” “When It Rains It Pours,” “One Number Away” and “Beautiful Crazy”; he also brought out Bailey Zimmerman to debut their new duet, “Backup Plan,” which Combs said they were shooting the music video for as he spoke.

A more surprising guest appearance came from Joel and Benji Madden of the pop-punk band Good Charlotte, who did their “Anthem,” then stuck around to pitch in on Combs’ “Where the Wild Things Are.” (I’m not entirely sure Benji had ever heard that one before Sunday night.) For an encore, Combs sang his tender version of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” which he said had changed his life, and “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma,” from last year’s “Twisters” movie, before welcoming Garth Brooks to the stage for “one last ‘hell yeah’ before we all go back to the real world.” It was “Friends in Low Places,” of course, and it got the place jumping.

The Backstreet Boys were perhaps the unlikeliest act to play Stagecoach’s Palomino tent this year.

(Scott Dudelson / Getty Images for Stagecoach)

Boys among men

Perhaps the unlikeliest act to play Stagecoach’s Palomino tent this year (after earlier late-night appearances by T-Pain and Creed), the Backstreet Boys turned up in an array of distressed-leather outfits like five Old West himbos looking for a barmaid to woo. The boy band’s choreography appeared unchanged from the late ’90s, as did its songs, though I might’ve detected a whisper of pedal steel in “Drowning.” To put a button on the whole weekend, Combs came over from the main stage to sing a few lines of “As Long as You Love Me” — a perfect song, as any record factory denizen from Nashville to Sweden knows.

John Rzeznik, left, and Robby Takac of the Goo Goo Dolls debate who’s better — Elton John or Billy Joel?

(Scott Dudelson / Getty Images for Stagecoach)

Five minutes backstage with the Goo Goo Dolls

Your publicist says you’re at work on your 15th studio album. The internet says it’ll be your 14th. Care to settle this?
John Rzeznik: Always believe the internet — there are rules against being wrong.

What’s the most country-ish Goo Goo Dolls song?
Rzeznik: In the set today, probably a song called “Come to Me.” There’s another song called “Walk Away,” but we thought that might be pandering.

What’s a country song you think you could kill?
Rzeznik: Well, you must stay away from any Chris Stapleton song because he has the greatest voice ever. When I listen to Chris Stapleton, I go, “This guy’s channeling Al Green.” It’s some dirty soul. So he’s off the list. There’s that one Johnny Cash song — I don’t know the name of it, but it’s about him working on an assembly line and he keeps stealing parts?

Robby Takac: “One Piece at a Time.”

Rzeznik: We could crush that song.

“Iris” was nominated for record of the year and song of the year at the Grammys in 1999. I’m sorry to remind you that it won neither. Remember who beat you?
Both: Celine Dion.

Takac: Wanna hear something crazy? Shortly after that, we were riding down the highway on our bus, and our driver goes, “Hey, Celine Dion’s bus is next to us.” She got on the CB and sang “My Heart Will Go On.” It was sort of a consolation prize.

Billy Joel has performed “Iris” with you. Ever cover a Billy Joel song?
Rzeznik: I don’t think so. But if we were to, it would have to be —

Takac: “You May Be Right.”

Rzeznik: We’ve had this debate: Who’s better — Elton John or Billy Joel? It’s a good one because I see both sides.

Takac: But it’s Elton John with Bernie Taupin.

Rzeznik: That’s the thing. Billy Joel sat there all by himself and wrote those songs.

Did the Goo Goo Dolls ever have a move-to-L.A. rock-star moment?
Rzeznik: Yeah, I was in the middle of a divorce. Great time to move to L.A., especially after you’ve had a little bit of success. I was living in the Le Parc hotel, and that’s where I wrote “Iris.”

Who knows what would’ve happened if you’d never moved?
Rzeznik: Who knows what would’ve happened if I’d tried to get along better with my first wife?

After you guys, who’s the second-best act from Buffalo, N.Y.?
Rzeznik: Rick James.

Takac: He might be the best.

What was the best thing about the ’80s?
Rzeznik: No cellphones.

What was the worst thing about the ’90s?
Rzeznik: It wound up working in our favor, but we didn’t fit into the grunge thing, we didn’t fit into the alt-rock thing, we didn’t fit into mainstream music. We were like orphans. We didn’t have a gang so we had to create our own thing.

Takac: Can I offer a worst thing about the ’80s?

You may.
Takac: That f—ing Metal Blade record deal we signed.

Rzeznik: When we finally got a real lawyer and he read that deal, he said to us, “This is worse than TLC’s record deal.” I was like, “Oh my God — we are the two stupidest human beings on the face of the earth.”

“This is a song about the appreciation of reality,” Sammy Hagar said as he introduced Van Halen’s “Right Now.”

(Timothy Norris / Getty Images for Stagecoach)

Hagar the hedonist

“This is a song about the appreciation of reality,” Sammy Hagar declared rather high-mindedly to introduce Van Halen’s “Right Now” in the Palomino. For the most part, though, the 77-year-old rock veteran was chasing simpler delights in this endearingly sloppy performance: sex (as in “Poundcake”), fast cars (“I Can’t Drive 55”) and tequila (“Mas Tequila,” duh). For that last tune, Hagar told the crowd, “We’re gonna take this s— to the beach,” then made good on it by taking off his shoes — and his socks — and rolling up his pants to clam-digging length. Guy Fieri even popped out to take a swig from Hagar’s bottle.

Festival fashion report

Out: Denim thongs

In: Gingham bloomers

Out: Vintage band T-shirts

In: Clingy “Cowboy Pillows” T-shirts

Out: Mustaches (at least compared to Coachella)

In: Beards (in many cases minus a mustache)

Out: Backward ball caps

In: Camo Zach Bryan hats

Scotty McCreery performs at Stagecoach on Sunday.

(Timothy Norris / Getty Images for Stagecoach)

Five minutes backstage with Scotty McCreery

You have a 2-year-old son. What music is he into?
He loves Daddy’s songs, but it’s not like they’re just Daddy’s songs. I’ve got a song called “It Matters to Her,” and that’s our dog Moose’s song — Moose is in the music video. Mommy’s song is a song called “Slow Dance.” Everybody in the family has a song.

What’s a country song you love but you know better than to try doing yourself?
Anything Chris Stapleton sings.

Describe your fitness regimen.
At least 45 minutes every day — trade off between cardio and lifting. But I probably do better lifting the fork than anything.

What’s an adult beverage you’ve sworn off?
Fireball. One too many bad experiences.

Would you rather be 10% more talented or 10% better-looking?
Ten percent better-looking wouldn’t do me much good so I’ll take the talent.

What’s the last thing you used ChatGPT for?
I was trying to figure out some landscaping in the backyard and I couldn’t picture it. So I asked it if it could draw me what it would look like. Actually made some pretty good examples.

You have any tattoos?
No tattoos. Thought about it in Vegas once — was with all my guys at a golf tournament. But I thought wiser.

What might you have gotten?
Probably a Bible verse.

Are you a good golfer?
I’m a good golfer compared to most of the world. But some of my buddies are much better than me. Much better than me.