Travis Scott Removed From Coachella 2022 Lineup
Travis Scott has been effectively removed from the lineup of performances for the 2022 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
The development follows a report by KESQ in Palm Springs which reported that the controversial rapper was dropped from the bill following the tragedy which occurred at his own Astroworld festival on 5th November in Houston, where 10 people died and many more injured after the crowd rampaged during his headlining set. A Change.org petition was started in the days after the tragedy, demanding his removal from Coachella’s lineup. The petition has gathered nearly 60,000 signatures as of this writing. The petition urged Goldenvoice, AEG and festival co-founder Paul Tollett to drop Scott, claiming that the rapper displayed “gross negligence and sheer lack of compassion for human life.”
Sources say Coachella told the rapper’s agent, Cara Lewis, that it intended to remove him from the lineup, and would pay a kill fee to have him no longer perform.
Scott has expressed remorse over the tragedy, stating earlier this week during an interview with Charlamagne Tha God that he was not aware of the serious injuries that had occurred until after his performance. While he has since provided full refunds to all Astroworld attendees, offered to pay for the funeral costs of the victims and cancelled other upcoming concert appearances, his efforts largely have met with a tepid response. The rapper discussed the topic of safety several times, noting that he wanted to figure out what happened so that such tragedies can be prevented at future concerts. However, he also indicated that he believed it was the responsibility of “professionals” — and not artists — to take care of planning safety measures.
“As an artist, you just do the creative. And this to be my festival, I got to bring artists, creatively produce it,” he said at one point. “We just trust the professionals to make sure that people are taken care of and leaving safely.”
Nearly 2,800 Astroworld attendees have filed claims against Scott, promoter Live Nation and others who were behind the event, alleging they were negligent in the planning. Attorneys for victims and festival organizers have agreed to consolidate the numerous lawsuits into one massive case to be overseen by a single judge.
Coachella, which launched in 1999, is the biggest music festival in North America, with a capacity of 125,000. The 2022 edition is already sold out and offering a wait list for tickets and packages.
With Scott’s presumed withdrawal, Coachella apparently now has two new headliners to announce; Swedish House Mafia announced in October that they will be performing at the 2022 event, although it remains unclear whether or not they will be a headliner. However, the festival traditionally announces its lineup during the first days of the new year, and it seems likely that other performers, as well as any new headliners, will be announced at that time — assuming pandemic conditions allow the festival to proceed.
The Coachella festival is scheduled to take place on the weekends of April 15-17 and April 22-24, 2022 at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, Calif., with the country-themed Stagecoach festival scheduled to take place on the following weekend.
