Frank Ocean Cancels Sasquatch Headlining Appearance, Replaced By LCD Soundsystem

Ocean's cancellation was blamed on "production delays beyond his control."

James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem. IMAGE: Ruvan Wijesooriya.
By Matthew Singer

Hey, remember when Sasquatch managed to snag lauded R&B recluse Frank Ocean for what was, at the time, going to be one of his first live performances in two years? Pretty good get for festival that's generally considered a tier or two below behemoths like Coachella and Bonnaroo, right?

Yeah, that's no longer happening.

The festival announced today in a press release that Ocean is out as the first-day headliner, and will be replaced by resurgent New York dance-punk outfit LCD Soundsystem. It was also announced that Benjamin Clementine and Cigarettes After Sex have had to drop off as well and will be replaced by Blitzen Trapper and Jay Som, respectively.

Ocean's cancellation was blamed on "production delays beyond his control," but this isn't the first time he's dropped out of a festival gig at the last minute: In 2015, he canceled an appearance at L.A.'s FYF Fest the day before it was supposed to start; in that case, Kanye West stepped in. Ocean was also supposed to play Sasquatch once before. In 2014, he was set to headline a second weekend of the festival scheduled for Independence Day that ended up getting canceled.

LCD Soundsystem—who reunited last year and just released two new songs—isn't a bad consolation, but considering the lineup, which also features headliners Twenty-One Pilots and Chance the Rapper, received a rather divisive reaction from regular attendees, losing Ocean is sure to sting for more than a few ticketholders.

Sasquatch takes place May 26-28 at the Gorge Amphitheater in Washington. Tickets remain on sale.

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