The Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia have been announced as last-minute headliners for Coachella 2022, replacing Kanye West.
- READ MORE: From ticket sales to COVID safety – US industry insiders on the return of live music in 2022
Last week, it was reported that Ye was pulling out of his closing night headline sets for the two-weekend event, which takes place April 15-17 and April 22-24 in Indio, California.
The news has now been confirmed by Coachella, who took to Instagram this afternoon (April 6) to share a new line-up poster featuring “Swedish House Mafia x The Weeknd” on the Sundays of April 17 and 24 in place of Kanye.
Swedish House Mafia had already been scheduled to perform at the festival, with The Weeknd now joining them for a bill-topping joint set.
“I’m so looking forward to this moment with Swedish House Mafia and the Weeknd finishing out the Sunday night slot this year,” Coachella organiser Paul Tollett told Variety of the news.
“Coachella has a special relationship with Abel [Tesfaye] and I’m so thankful to have this upcoming performance with these iconic artists all on the same stage.”
“The Party & The After Party,” Coachella labelled the news. See the full line-up poster, including other headliners Harry Styles and Billie Eilish, below.
View this post on Instagram
Last year, the Scandinavian dance trio of Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso teamed up with The Weeknd on the single ‘Moth To A Flame’, and recently an ‘alternate world’ remix of Abel Tesfaye’s single ‘Sacrifice’.
It’s not been made clear as to why West has cancelled his appearance at the California festival, but it’s also been reported that Travis Scott was set to perform alongside West, and he too will now no longer appear.
The news follows a petition that was launched by fans last month to remove West from the festival’s line-up, which currently has almost 50,000 signatures.
The Change.org petition was launched on March 17 by a user with the alias Kim Pete, following West’s suspension on Instagram for his post about Trevor Noah which contained racial slurs. Noah had commented on West’s treatment of ex-wife Kim Kardashian on a recent episode of The Daily Show, calling it “terrifying to watch”.
Back in February, West threatened to withdraw from Coachella, after perceiving comments made by Billie Eilish to be insults aimed at Travis Scott.
Other artists billed high for this year’s event are Flume, Megan Thee Stallion, Disclosure, 21 Savage, Phoebe Bridgers, Doja Cat, Joji, Jamie xx and Run The Jewels.
The festival has also controversially dropped all its COVID protocols and safety requirements for 2022.
