By the time Greg Ginn’s current iteration of Black Flag stepped onto the Gobi stage at Coachella 2026, punk fans already had nearly a year to prepare. Ginn unveiled the first look at his new, remarkably young lineup last May, and the crew played their first show the following June in Bulgaria. Still, watching Sunday’s “Black Flag set” was… something. It was most certainly something.
Vocalist Max Zanelly, bassist David Rodriguez, and drummer Bryce Weston accompanied the 71-year old Ginn, with the trio racing through a setlist that stuck to their most classic material, pulling from Damaged, My War, Jealous Again, Slip It In, and the band’s debut EP Nervous Breakdown. Not to belabor the point, but the most recent song they performed was released in 1984, which is kind of a funny stat to remember when looking at press pictures of the act in 2026.
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And, truthfully, it wasn’t even a disaster. That, at least, would have been easier to wrap our heads around. The individual performances were all quite solid, particularly the rhythm section, who generated most of the energy for the set. Zanelly also has a strong voice and can hold her own on stage, and Ginn was doing his Ginn thing. But the overall product was far less than the sum of its parts, not matching the raw power of Black Flag’s heyday nor offering anything all that interesting or novel that would set Gen Z Flag apart. Honestly, I’d rather be watching these kids perform their own music under an original name, even if Ginn remained involved — but then they can’t sell merch with those four bars on it.
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All told, it’s hard to conceive of who this set was for other than those who stand to make money from it, and isn’t that the hallmark of true punk these days! I mean, the Dead Kennedys are sure on a similar wave. So much for rising above, the whole thing felt more like a punk rock false flag operation aimed at those who haven’t really been paying all that much attention. Good luck to them youngins, though.
See the full setlist from the performance below. You can also check out our full Coachella 2026 coverage.
Setlist:
Can’t Decide
Nervous Breakdown
I’ve Had It
Wasted
Black Coffee
Six Pack
My War
Revenge
Jealous Again
Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie
Fix Me
Rise Above
Louie Louie (Richard Berry & the Pharaohs cover)
Fucked Up (Good for You cover)