Dear April 2023: Frank Ocean will headline Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival three years after he was originally supposed to, according to co-founder Paul Tollett.
The Goldenvoice CEO broke the news in an interview with the Los Angeles Times on Monday (Aug. 2). He solely revealed Ocean’s name from the 2023 bill, but his unorthodox strategy of naming an act years in advance was meant to reassure fans that the enigmatic R&B superstar will perform as promised after the COVID-19 pandemic derailed Coachella in 2020 and 2021. In June, Goldenvoice announced that North America’s largest multi-genre music festival will return after a two-year hiatus, with weekend one scheduled for April 15-17 and weekend two marked for April 22-24, 2022, at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.
“Right now, it’s the Wild West,” Tollett said. “I’m just trying to be as fair as I can to artists and to the fans to make sure that eventually they get to see everyone that we talked about.”
Travis Scott and Rage Against the Machine, who were previously billed with Ocean as the three headliners of the 2020 festival, will do the honors next year. Ocean was not available for the 2021 rescheduled edition of the festival, and Tollett did not reveal who will be joining La Flame and RATM as the third big name on the latest festival bill. It also remains unclear who will join the “Thinkin Bout You” artist on the 2023 bill.
Ocean last released two singles in March 2020, “Dear April” and “Cayendo.” His magnum opus of a sophomore album, Blonde, will celebrate its fifth anniversary on Aug. 20, 2021.
