Coachella Co-Founder Shares First Public Reaction to Kanye’s Abrupt Exit From Festival

Paul Tollett, co-founder of Coachella, is opening up about Kanye West’s decision to remove himself from the 2022 lineup. 

With the two-weekend festival having just come to a close this year, Tollett spoke to the Los Angeles Times about Ye’s last-minute decision and its impact on the event as a whole. As Tollett explained, he’s still “good with Kanye.”

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

Tollett added that when Ye dropped, his eventual replacement contacted him directly, as the Weeknd and manager Sal Slaiby reached right out and asked what Tollett was looking for in terms of a show. 

“I said, ‘I actually don’t know yet. Right now I’m a little stunned with Kanye leaving. I’ve got to think what to do here,’” he said. 

Coachella wound up landing the Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia as co-headliners for a joint performance that closed off the first and second weekend.

Back in August, the Goldenvoice CEO confirmed that Frank Ocean will be headlining in 2023; he was previously announced for the 2020 lineup before the pandemic nixed that edition. The new L.A. Times story mentions the fact Frank is still slotted for next year’s fest. While Ocean has yet to release a full-length album since his critically acclaimed 2016 record Blonde, he shared a couple 2020 singles in the form of “Dear April” and “Cayendo,” after going on his loosie run from 2017-19. It’s unclear if he’ll have new material in time for next year’s fest, but fans are hopeful.