It’s been a rough week for Coachella. Recent bombshells hitting the presses definitely have their PR and event coordination teams working on overdrive. The first weekend of the festival is just 4 days away and the bad news keeps coming. As if the horrible news of a stagehand falling to his death wasn’t enough, the event got a second major blow yesterday. Solange Knowles, scheduled for both Saturdays, has pulled out of the event at the last minute. This has sent event producers scrambling to fill a huge void in the festival’s lineup.
Knowles, infamous for giving Jay-Z the business in an elevator, seems to be doing the same to Coachella here. Citing “major production delays,” Solange is backing out of Coachella at the last second. Exactly what that means is unclear at this time, as multiple news outlets are reaching out for clarification. There’s no response as of yet, but one is sure to come with the amount of shade being thrown her way by fans.
Due to major production delays, Solange will unfortunately no longer be performing at this year's festival. She sends her sincerest apologies, and looks forward to performing at Coachella in the future.
— Coachella (@coachella) April 8, 2019
The question on everyone’s minds with the void left by Solange: what now? Concertgoers expecting her to grace the stage on days alongside artists like Bassnectar and Kid Cudi are now left wondering. Fans are quickly shouting out and tagging their suggestions on Coachella’s Twitter feed. Recommendations of the Jonas Brothers, Lana Del Rey, and Jhené Aiko have all popped up repeatedly. Additionally, some big-name acts themselves are offering to step up to the plate. Smashmouth offered its services in a response tweet seen here:
we got this
— Smash Mouth (@smashmouth) April 8, 2019
A Long History of Event Issues
At this point, it seems like Solange is just another chapter in the long story of issues surrounding Coachella. Every year, the event is plagued with some sort of controversy. The rampant sexual harassment reports that surfaced were not pretty last year. That comes on top of the body-shaming and anti-gay accusations of 2017. Reports of douchebaggery go all the way back to 2014. Although this latest news is clearly out of Coachellas hands, it’s notoriety for having problems looms large nonetheless.
Regardless, Coachella definitely bounces back every year with great lineups and solid performances across the board. This year’s bill is full of diversity as the event is hoping to draw a much more inclusive crowd. The day club lineup is stacked as well for sure. Love it or hate it, it’s still one of the premier events in the U.S. every year. Surely they will find a way of digging themselves out of this hole too.
Follow Coachella’s social media as more news becomes available.
