Queen Legend Brian May Rocks Coachella in Emotional Comeback After Stroke
Queen guitarist Brian May, 77, made a surprise return to the stage at Coachella 2025, thrilling fans just seven months after suffering a minor stroke that temporarily paralyzed his left arm.
The rock legend joined 22-year-old rising star Benson Boone during his set, where they performed Queen’s famous hit “Bohemian Rhapsody” together on the Main Stage, writes Fox News.
Excited Coachella crowd
“Please give it up for Queen guitarist Brian May”, Boone announced to the excited Coachella crowd as May delivered an impressive guitar solo, showing remarkable recovery since his health scare last year.
May had hinted at the surprise collaboration on social media before the show, sharing a photo from a private plane with Boone and writing, “Do we look happy?!!! Gonna treasure this moment on the plane with @bensonboone – a truly golden 22 year old prodigy. I’m proud and happy to say we are now officially pals.”
Cocktail of emotions
In another emotional post just before taking the stage, May described his feelings: “Nearly Show-Time!!! That old feeling – that cocktail of emotions — fear – excitement – disbelief – belief – horror – gratitude – friendship – the will to create something special. And now, having Planned the Dive, just Dive the plan!!! … Here we go!!!!”
This performance marks a significant milestone in May’s recovery journey. Last September, he revealed his stroke on Instagram, saying: “I’m here to bring you first of all some good news — the good news is that I can play guitar after the events of the last few days. I say this because it was in some doubt… that little health hiccup that I mentioned happened about a week ago and what they called it was a minor stroke and all of a sudden — out of the blue – I didn’t have any control over this arm, so it was a little scary.”
The Coachella appearance also comes nearly five years after May suffered a heart attack in May 2020, when doctors discovered three congested arteries that could have potentially been fatal.
