Travis Scott will no longer headline next year’s Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival.
Coachella’s producer, Goldenvoice, has reportedly chosen to cut ties with the embattled rapper in the wake of the tragic events at his own Astroworld festival in November, which saw ten people crushed to death and hundreds more injured when the crowd rushed the stage during Scott’s performance, causing a deadly human stampede.
Despite the tragedy, Scott was still intent on playing Coachella next April. However, according to Variety, Goldenvoice recently informed the rapper’s booking agent, Cara Lewis, that he was being dropped from the bill. In a bid to hold on to the headlining slot, Scott reportedly went as far as to offer to perform at the festival for free, but Goldenvoice ultimately declined the overture.
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Scott had originally been slated to headline Coachella in 2020 prior to its cancelation due to the coronavirus. Back in August, Coachella co-founder Paul Tollett confirmed Scott as a 2022 headliner alongside Rage Against the Machine. Swedish House Mafia were later announced as a third headlining act.
Consequence has reached out to Goldenvoice and Scott’s representatives for comment. Coachella traditionally announces its full lineup in early January.
The Coachella headlining slot was meant to mark Scott’s return to the music festival circuit. Instead, it will be another lost opportunity as he finds himself mired in nearly 300 civil lawsuits — including one class action suit totaling $750 million.
In an interview posted to Charlamagne Tha God’s YouTube channel just a few days ago, Scott broke his silence on the Astroworld tragedy, appearing contrite while also denying any responsibility for what happened at his festival. During the sit-down, he claimed he “didn’t know” it was a “mass casualty event” until after seeing the first press conference by law enforcement. (In fact, he went out to Dave and Buster’s for a private party once he left the stage.)
In the same interview, Scott said the tragedy of Astroworld would not deter him from performing again in the future. “First things first, before anything, we address the safety concerns,” he said. “Not even for just me, but you don’t want other artists to experience that trauma. Once we take major steps into moving in that direction, I think it would be cool for people to practice that healing… Music is part of healing.”
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