It’s the start of a new year, which—in the pandemic era edition of live music—signifies that fans and officials alike are left with a slew of unanswered questions surrounding important festivals such as Coachella.
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has not been held since 2019 due to ongoing COVID-19 worries. The lineup for the ultimately cancelled 2020 event, which was initially revealed, included confirmed headliners Travis Scott, Frank Ocean, and Rage Against the Machine.
The full 2022 Coachella line-up has not been officially revealed, despite the fact that it is (at the time of this writing) set to reprise in April. However, a number of recent events have indicated that Coachella’s return (possibly featuring a Donda-era performance from Ye) may not follow (at one point, at least) anticipated 2020 plans as much as previously expected.
We’ve compiled a list of names that have been discussed as potential 2022 headliners, including speculation about where their involvement with this year’s event presently stands. We contacted representatives for Kanye West, Billie Eilish, Swedish House Mafia, Travis Scott, and the Coachella organization Goldenvoice for comment.
Kanye West
Fans will recall that in 2011, Ye delivered a traditional Coachella performance, and he is the most recent artist to be announced as having been added to the 2022 lineup. While nothing has been formally verified, Variety reported on Wednesday that Ye and Billie Eilish are set to headline this year’s festival (more on Eilish below).
With Ye having been confirmed to be in the early stages of working on a Donda sequel, and with the original Album of the Year at the 2022 Grammys up for consideration, a headlining festival set from the always-memorable artist doesn’t seem unlikely.
Billie Eilish
Eilish is currently working on her third album, which may be released in 2021. Despite the fact that nothing has been formally announced, recent reports from both Hits Daily Double and TMZ suggest that Eilish will headline Coachella in 2022. Fans will note that Eilish’s current tour plans for 2020 do not include any prior performances at other festivals starting on or near Coachella dates. According to TMZ, Eilish “has committed” to headlining this year’s event.
Travis Scott
There hasn’t been any official word on the matter, but there have been no official announcements confirming either option. However, last year’s Astroworld Festival tragedy (which resulted in the deaths of 10 attendees) has many people believing that it is unlikely that Scott will make an appearance at this year’s Coachella headliners.
The tragedy, which has prompted a number of lawsuits and was the subject of an interview with Charlamagne tha God in December, has fueled Dior’s decision to “indefinitely” delay a collaborative Cactus Jack collection, according to a recent WWD-shared announcement.
According to TMZ, Scott will “most likely” not headline Coachella this year. According to a December 2021 Variety report, the rapper had been “completely removed from the lineup,” although no official announcement has been made about the matter.
Rage Against the Machine
While the current tour schedule of the near-mythical rock band appears to indicate that the Battle of Los Angeles artists will be included in 2022, HDD claimed Wednesday that plans for 2022 have been hampered by RATM’s withdrawal. According to the news, “RATM has withdrawn.”
Swedish House Mafia
The house music group has been announced as performing this year, but it’s still unclear whether they will headline. TMZ and HDD reported that they would be performing in a headlining capacity, although this was not confirmed by the band or their representative.
Frank Ocean
Coachella co-founder Paul Tollett revealed in August of last year that Ocean would, in fact, headline the event. However, in 2022, he will not be a part of the lineup and will instead perform as a headliner at the 2023 edition of the festival.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login