BINI’s road to Coachella

When BINI steps onto the Coachella stage in April 2026, they won’t just be performing for tens of thousands at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California — they’ll be making history as the first Filipino girl group ever to perform at the iconic festival. But as Star Magic head Lauren Dyogi revealed, this milestone was the result of years of vision, strategy, and risk-taking.

In an interview on KC After Hours with Karmina Constantino, Dyogi traced BINI’s Coachella invitation back to ABS-CBN CEO Carlo Katigbak’s long-term vision of pushing Filipino artists onto the world stage. “Laging ang nasa utak natin, one way to go international is to be invited in big festivals like Coachella and Lollapalooza,” Dyogi explained.

To turn that vision into reality, ABS-CBN brought in international consultants who could help Star Magic navigate the global music industry. Their advice? Work with foreign agents and impress international promoters—the very people who hold the keys to festival lineups.

That roadmap led to BINI’s first world tour in 2025, a project Dyogi admitted was less about profit and more about positioning. “Itong recent world tour, it was an investment. Wala tayong kita diyan. It was really a risk on our end,” he shared, crediting Katigbak and ABS-CBN COO Cory Vidanes for insisting the group take the leap.

The tour meant a month away from lucrative local opportunities, but it paid off. From Dubai to Los Angeles to San Francisco, BINI drew crowds that impressed major promoters like Live Nation and All Things Live. “We needed to prove that somehow we have a crowd, we have an audience,” Dyogi said. “After the world tour, boom—the decision makers were impressed that, uy, there is something in BINI. So we got an invitation to be part of Coachella.”

As soon as the news broke, some critics speculated that ABS-CBN had paid for BINI’s slot at Coachella. Dyogi was quick to dismiss the claim: “Sinasabi ng tao ngayon binayaran daw natin, hindi naman po totoo ’yun, hindi ganun.” Instead, he emphasized, the invitation was earned through the group’s performance and ability to attract fans overseas.

Even Dyogi admitted he didn’t expect Coachella to happen this soon. “We were still not convinced that [the first tour] was good enough. We felt that it would take two more world tours before we got traction with the important promoters,” he said. Yet BINI’s breakthrough came earlier than anticipated, a testament to both their talent and their growing international fanbase.

Now, with Coachella just months away, the focus shifts to preparation. The group is set to perform on April 10 and 17, 2026, sharing the bill with a star-studded lineup that includes Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber, and Karol G.

For BINI, joining Coachella’s roster is a career-defining moment. Since its inception in 1999, the festival has hosted some of the world’s most iconic performances, spanning rock, pop, hip-hop, and electronic music. To be included is to be recognized as a player on the global stage.

As the “Nation’s Girl Group” prepares for their biggest audience yet, their journey underscores a powerful truth: breaking into the international scene requires vision, risk, and relentless belief. For BINI, Coachella is not just a stage—it’s a statement.