The anticipation for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival’s Weekend 1 set times brought joy to Vampire Weekend fans but brought disappointment to followers of British dubstep.
Despite being prominently featured on the original lineup announcement for the Indio festival, United Kingdom DJs Skream and Benga had to pull out of their joint sets just days before the opening of Coachella’s gates on Friday, April 12. In a joint statement shared on Instagram with Skream, Benga cited a last-minute issue with his government-issued visa as the reason for his withdrawal from Skream’s United States tour.
Expressing his dismay, the dubstep pioneer stated, “I am absolutely gutted, my team and I have worked tirelessly on making this happen. But hey, I’m respecting the process and staying positive.” Benga also announced that Skream would proceed with the U.S. tour without him and that they aimed to make a return to Coachella in 2025.
The news came as a disappointment to fans of both artists, who expressed their sorrow over the canceled sets on the active r/Coachella subreddit.
Originating from Croydon, England, Skream (Oliver Jones) and Benga (Adegbenga Adejumo) have a long-standing collaboration on tour and are part of a three-person project called Magnetic Man. With a history spanning decades, the duo are renowned as pioneers of the dubstep sound and played integral roles in its mainstream emergence in the mid-2000s.
While Skream has transitioned towards house and techno genres in recent years, he treated fans to an old-school dubstep set at Coachella in 2022. However, those eager to see him perform again at the Southern California festival will have to wait until next year.