Coachella Twitter is lit right now.
That's because "informed sources" told Hits Daily Double, a music industry website, that the festival's 2019 headliners will be Childish Gambino, Justin Timberlake and Kanye West.
Scheduled for April 12-14 and 19-21 of 2019 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, the Goldenvoice-produced music and arts festival is often the subject of rumors. According to Hits Daily Double, Gambino will headline Friday night; Timberlake on Saturday; and West on Sunday.
So, let's break it down.
Here's why this hot gossip could be true:
- While Coachella has featured a mix of rock, hip-hop and electronic music since the festival's inception in 1999, co-founder Paul Tollett said in an April 2018 interview with The Desert Sun: “The last couple years we’ve been going a little heavier on hip-hop.” West and Childish Gambino fall right into that. Timberlake has leaned in that direction, but he'll also bring a pop element that will translate to a curiosity factor at Coachella.
- A Kardashian family trust bought a seven-bedroom property in nearby La Quinta on August 8. The Desert Sun reported the Madison Club mansion was bought by The Lou Ethel Wyatt Family Trust, which has documented ties to family matriarch Kris Jenner. While it was not confirmed which members of the Kardashian clan were the new owners, this could serve as a home base for West as a festival headliner.
- West is a Goldenvoice favorite. He performed an acclaimed headlining set at the 2011 Coachella and then, when Frank Ocean cancelled at the Goldenvoice-produced FYF Festival in Los Angeles in 2015, West stepped in and gave an even better headlining set. He's the king of social media and that can be monetized at a music festival. So, those factors can mitigate a lot of bizarre behavior by Ye.
And here's why the rumor may not be true:
- The festival lineup is not announced until January.
- Coachella fans have complained about the lack of pay parity between male and female artists, not to mention the lack of female artists in general. Beyoncé was just the third female headliner in the 18-year history of Coachella (Bjork headlined in 2002 and 2007, and Lady Gaga replaced Beyoncé after the announcement of her pregnancy in 2017). In 2018, Tollett booked more female performers for Coachella than any year in its history, though a great majority of the 167 acts were still male. (There were 38 female solo artists or groups and 13 bands including women.) “Everyone has to do better," Tollett told The Desert Sun in April 2018, noting that all festivals are dependent on agents submitting acts to them.
- West is a political hot potato right now. Last weekend after performing on “Saturday Night Live,” he was booed during a pro-Trump rant on stage. Later, on Twitter, he called for the U.S. to abolish the 13th Amendment, which would open the door to no less than slavery. He then clarified that statement: "The 13th Amendment is slavery in disguise," he said, "meaning it never ended."
Tollett makes it a practice to never comment on questions about a festival lineup. But he does work on the Coachella lineup year-round, sometimes negotiating for appearances more than a year in advance. So, despite the rumors popping up in early fall, it's more than likely nothing is set in stone for the festival scheduled to open in mid-spring.
