Words / Jovita Tedja
Photos / Head in the Clouds LA
Head in the Clouds (HITC), the annual music festival celebrating Asian artists from around the world, returned to Los Angeles for its eighth edition on Saturday, August 8, 2026. Hosted by music label 88rising and Goldenvoice, the festival once again brought together a dynamic lineup of artists from across the global music scene.
Often dubbed the “Asian Coachella,” LADYGUNN was on the ground to experience the high-energy festival firsthand. From exciting newcomers making their Head in the Clouds debut to veteran performers returning to the HITC stage, here are some of the acts that stood out to us the most.
ONE OR EIGHT
Japanese boy group ONE OR EIGHT, a last-minute surprise addition to the bill, kicked off the festival with a high-octane set that lived up to their motto of ichi ka bachi ka, “all or nothing,” and they certainly gave it their all. Consisting of members MIZUKI, NEO, REIA, RYOTA, SOUMA, TAKERU, TSUBASA, and YUGA, ONE OR EIGHT was formed by Japanese music label Avex through the year-long audition program WARPs DIG, which ran from 2022 to 2023. The group tore through performances including their hit “TOKYO DRIFT” and latest digital single, “YANKEE SQUAT,” released ahead of their forthcoming EP, EN-GÏNE, arriving next month on September 16th, 2026.
The concept behind “YANKEE SQUAT” draws from Japan’s yankii subculture, a term historically associated with rebellious youth who reject the polished behavior and social expectations of mainstream Japanese society. The titular squat itself carries that same defiant reputation: crouching or squatting in public has long been stereotypically associated with yankii or delinquent youth cultures, making the posture appear deliberately unrefined or even confrontational, but ONE OR EIGHT turns that stigma into a statement of nonconformity. In a culture where fitting and maintaining appearances can carry considerable weight, the “YANKEE SQUAT” becomes a visual declaration of the group’s willingness to stand apart and define themselves on their own terms.
With Head in the Clouds 2026 being their first international music festival appearance, ONE OR EIGHT made the most of their festival-opening moment, delivering the kind of introduction that made it clear they are an act to keep an eye on.
no na
no na and dancers at Head in the Clouds LA. Photo credit: Sarah Midkiff
88rising’s first girl group project, no na, made their debut in May 2025 with the release of their single “shoot,” which quickly captured fans’ attention with a music video that beautifully showcased Indonesian landscapes, traditional clothing, and cultural influences. Consisting of an all-Indonesian lineup of Christy, Esther, Baila, and Shaz, the quartet are no strangers to Head in the Clouds, having performed at the festival’s Los Angeles and Brooklyn editions last year, as well as HITC Tokyo earlier this year. But this time around, no na upped the ante, bringing an infectious energy to the stage with upbeat bangers like their January 2026 breakout hit “work” and recent release “honk!” proudly introducing Indonesian sound and culture onto the global stage.
“honk!” serves as a pre-release single from no na’s debut album, island girl. The track draws from the melodic airhorns of Indonesia’s intercity buses, a sound that became internationally recognizable through the viral 2016 phenomenon “Om Telolet Om” (roughly translated as “Uncle, honk, uncle”). The phrase originated with children gathering along roadsides, particularly in smaller Indonesian towns, and calling out to passing bus drivers to sound their distinctive, often customized klaxons. “Om Telolet Om” is woven directly into the song itself, with the catchphrase delivered through a surprise appearance from Indonesian rapper and fellow 88rising artist Rich Brian.
But “honk!” reaches beyond nostalgia or internet culture. Its hook chants, “Get on the angkot,” referring to the ubiquitous minivans and minibuses that remain one of the most affordable and accessible forms of public transportation across many Indonesian cities. The music video pushes this imagery even further, staging a dance sequence within a rumah susun complex, which is Indonesia’s high-density, subsidized apartment housing associated with lower-income urban communities.
For a group as unapologetically Indonesian as no na, these choices carry particular weight. Rather than presenting Indonesia through the polished imagery of luxury resorts, tropical escapism, or the rapidly modernizing skylines often exported to international audiences, “honk!” turns its attention toward the everyday infrastructure and working-class environments that shape life for millions of Indonesians. The angkot, the intercity bus, and rumah susun are not treated as backdrops to be hidden or romanticized, but as recognizable pieces of a country marked by significant socioeconomic inequality and vastly different lived realities across class lines. By placing these distinctly local, working-class symbols at the center of a globally distributed pop release, no na offers a vision of Indonesia that feels both celebratory and refreshingly grounded, as well as one that allows the textures of ordinary Indonesian life to take up space on the global stage.
With their debut album, island girl, slated for release on September 18, 2026, no na are only getting started. Spanning 15 tracks, the project promises to showcase the many different colors of the group and offer fans a fuller picture of what no na have to offer.
UMI
UMI on stage at Head in the Clouds LA. Photo credit: Head in the Clouds LA
Slowing things down with a romantic and sultry set, American singer-songwriter UMI brought a charming R&B performance to the Head in the Clouds stage, complete with a surprise guest appearance from rapper 6LACK. Known for her dreamy blend of R&B and neo-soul, UMI first gained widespread attention with her hit single “Remember Me” in 2018, followed shortly after by her EP Balance in 2019.
Amid the festival’s many high-energy performances, UMI’s set felt refreshingly grounding and almost meditative, captivating the audience with her delicate, honeyed vocals. A personal highlight was her performance of the 2022 track “say im ur luv,” alongside fan favorites like 2019’s “Love Affair” and “wherever u r,” her collaboration with V of BTS. Against the backdrop of the setting sun, UMI brought a welcome dose of romance and intimacy to Head in the Clouds, proving that even among the festival’s louder, more explosive sets, her quieter presence commands the stage just as powerfully.
Rich Brian
One of the first international artists to join 88rising, Rich Brian has become a familiar presence at Head in the Clouds, appearing on the bill at nearly every edition of the festival. Following the release of his latest album, Where Is My Head?, in August 2025, Brian’s set offered a mix of new material and longtime fan favorites. Standouts included “Timezones” and, of course, his viral debut single “Dat $tick.” Before taking the stage for his own set, Brian also made a surprise appearance during fellow Indonesian artist Warren Hue’s performance, joining him for “Getcho Mans,” a track from Brian’s 2022 EP Brightside.
Originating from Jakarta, Indonesia, Brian was primarily homeschooled and taught himself English through the internet, where he also discovered his love for hip-hop. He has frequently cited artists such as Childish Gambino, 2 Chainz, and Tyler, the Creator as some of his biggest influences. Before pursuing music, Brian first built an online following through comedy sketches on platforms like Twitter and Vine, but his trajectory changed dramatically when his tongue-in-cheek debut single “Dat $tick” went viral, accompanied by a music video that playfully subverted the conventions of stereotypical rap videos against the suburban backdrop of West Jakarta, where Brian grew up in a Chinese-Indonesian family. That contrast carried particular resonance in Indonesia, a country marked by stark economic disparity, where the aspirational wealth and conspicuous excess often celebrated in popular rap culture remain far removed from much of the population.
Since then, Rich Brian has grown into one of Indonesia’s most internationally recognized musical artists, helping pave the way for a new generation of Indonesian rappers and musicians looking to make their mark on the global stage.
XG
XG is one of Japan’s biggest global acts, bringing together seven incredibly talented artists: JURIN, CHISA, HINATA, HARVEY, JURIA, MAYA, and COCONA. After first gaining widespread attention with their 2023 record-breaking tracks “SHOOTING STAR” and “LEFT RIGHT,” the group has been on an extraordinary run ever since, continuing to build their discography with fan favorites like “HYPNOTIZE” and “GALA.”
XG’s HINATA, CHISA and JURIN performing on stage. Photo credit: Head in the Clouds LA
Just as they declare in “GALA” that they “turned the Met Gala into an X-GALA,” XG certainly transformed the Head in the Clouds stage into a show entirely their own, moving the crowd with the confidence and charisma of a full-fledged XG concert. Fans will have plenty more opportunities to experience that energy as the group continues their XG WORLD TOUR: THE CORE through the remainder of 2026 and into early 2027. After kicking off the tour in Japan in February 2026, XG will bring THE CORE to cities around the world, including a run of North American stops this November.
Beyond their music, XG has become equally recognized for their boundary-pushing visuals, from striking fashion to experimental makeup looks that frequently draw inspiration from Japanese street style and subcultures. The group also recently entered a new chapter with the evolution of the XG name to “XTRAORDINARY GENES,” following member COCONA publicly coming out as an AFAB transmasculine non-binary person late last year.
KATSEYE
Performing at just their second-ever festival as headliners, KATSEYE’s DANIELA, MEGAN, LARA, and YOONCHAE took command of the Head in the Clouds stage, delivering an electrifying set despite performing as a quartet without members SOPHIA and MANON, who are currently on health-related hiatuses. Formed through The Debut: Dream Academy, a collaboration between South Korean entertainment company HYBE and Geffen Records, KATSEYE officially debuted in June 2024 with their aptly titled single “Debut.” In just two years, the group has amassed a massive global following and emerged as one of the generation’s biggest girl groups.
Being the first global girl group developed through the HYBE x Geffen partnership, KATSEYE represents an intriguing evolution of the K-pop model. Before their debut, the members spent nearly two years training within the famously rigorous K-pop trainee system, a process documented through The Debut: Dream Academy and later explored more intimately in the Netflix docuseries Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE. That foundation is evident in the group’s razor-sharp choreography, performance discipline, and carefully constructed creative world. Yet KATSEYE has never positioned itself simply as a K-pop group. Instead, the group takes the infrastructure that helped turn K-pop into a global phenomenon and adapts it for a distinctly international pop act, bringing together members from different cultural backgrounds while largely performing in English. In that sense, KATSEYE benefits from the precision and artist-development machinery of K-pop without allowing it to define the boundaries of their identity, perhaps, one of the clearest examples yet of how the system’s influence is expanding beyond K-pop itself.
At Head in the Clouds, KATSEYE brought plenty of theatrics to the stage with their performance of the hit “Gabriela,” easily one of the standout moments of the night. The group also performed their new song “Animal,” written by Ed Sheeran and released ahead of their EP WILD, which is out now alongside their documentary, WILD HEARTS. To close out both their set and the festival, KATSEYE launched into their breakthrough single “Gnarly,” transforming the packed Rose Bowl into one massive dance party, and ending Head in the Clouds on an undeniable high.