In a move that surprises absolutely no one, Frank Ocean has pulled out of his headlining set at Sasquatch Festival.
The Washington festival announced the news today via social media, citing “production delays beyond his control.” Frank has been replaced by LCD Soundsystem, who are stepping up to headline alongside Chance the Rapper and Twenty One Pilots.
“Production delays” is a deliberately ambiguous swerve, of course, no different to the “scheduling conflicts” “unexpected circumstances” and “personal reasons” arbitrarily tacked onto other cancellations. They’re neither real nor honest, just easy ways to avoid explanation. Cynical? Absolutely. True? Almost always.
Though the Blonde artist has been remarkably present of late, what with his Apple Music radio programs, three loose singles and most recently appearing at the Met Gala, the chances of actually seeing him perform live were always thin.
Ahead of Sasquatch, Frank is also scheduled to perform at Hangout Festival in Alabama on May 19. At this point we’d put money on a no-show there, too.
When he first began announcing festival shows last year, Howl & Echoes pointed out how frequently he’s cancelled dates and whole tours in the past, and that it “would be more surprising if he actually did show up.”
I hate to say I told you so.