The ever-elusive Frank Ocean took the stage at Coachella this weekend (April 16) marking his first performance in six years. Despite the anticipation, some delays, an interesting stage setup, and a curfew left many of his fans feeling disappointed.
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The first setback came as fans who couldn’t make it out to Indio, California, for Coachella and were relying on the official live stream to watch Ocean’s performance. A few hours prior to his set on the mainstage, Youtube (the host of Coachella’s live stream) announced that Ocean’s set would not be broadcast for an at-home audience.
Even those in attendance were left feeling a little jilted waiting for Ocean to take the stage after being an hour late to his time slot. It’s not yet known if the delay was due to festival organizers or Ocean.
It was always expected that Ocean would take an interesting approach to his headlining set. The arty, yet cagey performance was par for the course with Ocean’s track record. While the two previous nights of the fest featured amped-up hits from Reggaeton sensation Bad Bunny and K-Pop princesses BLACKPINK, Ocean’s was rife with laid-back staging and intimate performances.
Most of the stage was covered up by a giant screen that featured shots of the singer and his accompanying band. While fans in the back of the over 250,000-person crowd likely appreciated the large screen, those in the front (who likely camped out for hours for their prime spot) weren’t able to see Ocean through the small opening on the stage.
One Twitter user, @janine_silva027, remarked, “So you mean to tell me people who paid to see Frank Ocean are watching him on a screen like me…” While another, @its_giving_cher, said, “i think its totally valid to be annoyed at frank ocean i mean he came on SUPER late, barely sung, had a bunch of long pauses, only used the screen pretty much, and ended early?? like come on.”
As a silver lining, Ocean did debut new music during his set. Ocean hasn’t shared a full-length project since 2016 with the release of Blonde. The new track, titled “Inner Child,” saw a young kid lip-sync to Ocean’s vocals while the singer sat in the background.
On top of the new song, Ocean did mention the possibility of a follow-up to Blonde. “I’m not here because there’s an album, not that there’s not a new album,” he told the crowd.
After playing for about 30 minutes, Ocean’s set was cut short due to a curfew Coachella puts on Sunday night shows. Ocean then ended the set abruptly. “Guys, I’m being told it’s curfew, so that’s the end of the show,” he said. “Thank you so much.”
All in all, fans didn’t seem too thrilled with Ocean’s long-awaited comeback. There’s no news yet of when/if Ocean will make a full-fledged return to the music space.
(Photo credit should read ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
