Beyonce brought band mates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams on stage during her headline set at the festival in California last night.
The trio began their surprise performance with their 2004 hit Lose My Breath, followed by Say My Name and Soldier.
It’s the first time they have appeared together since the Stellar Gospel Music Awards in 2015.
The 36-year-old singer’s show took a military theme, beginning with a rendition of her 2003 hit Crazy In Love played by a marching band.
Dancers wore black berets and yellow hoodies decorated with military-style sashes, and leotards with epaulettes.
The nearly two-hour set included quotes from civil rights activist Malcolm X and feminist author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, as well as samples of Nina Simone.
It also featured a rendition of Lift Every Voice and Sing, a song often referred to as the “Black American National Anthem”.
Beyonce’s set closed the second day of the three-day festival in Indio, California, which will end tonight with Eminem.
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The Texan singer had been due to play Coachella last year, but was forced to pull out after becoming pregnant with twins Rumi and Sir.
Rumours that Destiny’s Child would reform for this year’s festival have been circulating for months.
But band member Kelly Rowland had dismissed them, telling People magazine in December, “I have no idea about any of that.”
Destiny’s Child are one of the most successful female groups of all time. They had 14 UK Top 40 songs, and two UK Number 1s.
On Saturday night the trio rose to the stage on a platform, standing back to back in a Charlie’s Angels-style formation, a nod to to their 2001 hit Independent Women Pt. 1, which appeared on the film’s soundtrack.
Their jewel-encrusted camouflage outfits echoed those worn in the iconic video for their song Survivor.
They performed energetic dance routines with lunges, high kicks and salutes, walking among the festival crowd on a raised walkway.
Beyonce’s set took in the breadth of her 16-year solo career, including songs Baby Boy, 7/11 and Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).
Jay-Z also joined his wife on stage for a performance of their 2012 song Deja Vu, while Solange later came on stage to dance with her elder sister.
