Watch: Hans Zimmer rocks out to Inception, Lion King, Pirates theme at Coachella

Pulling in up to 250,000 people over back-to-back weekends with identical lineups, Coachella thrives on surprises -- which appear quickly on social media and send fans scurrying across the grounds.

German film composer Hans Zimmer, one of the more unlikely Coachella acts, pulled in an open-air evening crowd to a performance featuring his entire band. He rocked out to Inception theme. Watch the video:

He even did a piano recital of his scores to movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lion King.

He transitioned into Pharrell Williams’ hit Freedom -- which brought the star in himself for a cameo.

Other highlights Sunday included Future Islands, the indie synthpop band whose frontman Samuel T. Herring is a frequent festival draw with his inimitable voice that reaches into a metal-like growl and back.

Spanish indie rockers Hinds enjoyed a surprisingly large crowd with dozens of fans storming the stage in joy -- taking bassist Ade Martin at face value when she said that Spaniards believed in dancing at gigs.