Sunday headliner Frank Ocean drops out of Weekend 2

Hip-hop star Frank Ocean, who headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Sunday, April 16, announced Wednesday that he won’t return for a planned second performance on Sunday, April 23, according to reports in Variety and several other music publications.

Variety also reported that pop-punk band Blink-182, which played a surprise set Friday, April 14 and was not expected to return for the second week, will possibly replace Ocean as headliner on Sunday.

Ocean’s performance on Sunday at times delivered beautiful music to a field packed with fans eager to see the elusive R&B singer-songwriter perform live for the first time since 2017. But production problems plagued the show throughout, from starting an hour later than announced to its anticlimactic finish when Ocean was forced off the stage after he played 20 minutes past the Coachella sound curfew.

Ocean’s representatives provided Variety with a statement announcing the Weekend 2 cancellation.

“After suffering an injury to his leg on festival grounds in the week leading up to weekend 1,” it read. “Frank Ocean was unable to perform the intended show but was still intent on performing, and in 72 hours, the show was reworked out of necessity.

“On doctor’s advice, he is not able to perform weekend 2 due to two fractures and a sprain in his left leg,” the statement added.

Ocean’s reps also provided Variety with a statement from Ocean.

“It was chaotic,” Ocean said in the release. “There is some beauty in chaos. It isn’t what I intended to show but I did enjoy being out there and I’ll see you soon.”