Coachella founder says he was ‘good with Kanye’ pulling out of festival

Coachella festival co-founder Paul Tollett has spoken out after this year’s event to confirm that there is no bad blood between him and Kanye West.

West, who is now legally known as “Ye”, was slated to close the 2022 festival, appearing on Sunday night of both Weekend 1 and Weekend 2. However, he pulled out of the Indio, California event in early April, just days before it was due to take place.

Tollett now says he supports West’s decision. “I’m good with Kanye,” he has said in a new interview with the LA Times.

“I Zoomed with him a couple days prior, and I think it was a good decision for him,” Tollett explained.

West was ultimately replaced by a joint set from The Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia.

“When all these headliners changed, it was hard, I won’t lie,” Tollett said, reflecting on the tumult in this year’s line-up. “But it’s also just part of what you do. Don’t get upset. Just make a change, you know?”

The article also confirms that Frank Ocean will be among the headliners at Coachella 2023.

Ocean was originally slated to headline the 2020 festival, but pulled out when the event was delayed until 2022 in response to Covid. It was reported at the time that Ocean was unavailable for the new 2022 dates and would be replaced by 20-year-old star Billie Eilish.

Ultimately, none of the original 2020 headliners played this year’s event, with Rage Against the Machine and Travis Scott replaced by Harry Styles and West.

Tollett made no mention of whether Travis Scott or Rage Against the Machine will appear on the lineups of upcoming festivals, though Scott recently announced his first concert date since the 2021 Astroworld tragedy.

Ten people died during Scott’s performance in Houston, Texas, on 5 November last year, when the crowd surged towards the stage.