Christine and the Queens have bowed out of their scheduled Saturday night gig on Coachella’s second stage, citing the death of singer Héloïse Letissier’s mother as the reason for not returning for weekend 2.
Although Letissier (pictured above performing during Coachella’s first weekend) sings in English, the French-born singer delivered the news in a tweet in her native language. Translated, it reads: “I can only write very simple sentences. I lost my mother on Tuesday night. I came home to go through this ordeal with my loved ones — I won’t be able to sing this Saturday. I kiss you.”
The group was scheduled to play, as they did the first weekend, in a prestigious nighttime gig at the Outdoor Theatre, generally considered the “second stage” at Coachella. The band first played the festival in 2016.
No replacement for the time slot has yet been named by Coachella producers.
On weekend 1, the band played a more theatrical set than fans have seen in the past, including the use of dancers. “It’s a tough festival,” Letissier told the Los Angeles Times in an interview. “You get dissolved in the palm trees and the desert. If you can achieve something there it’s a good sign. … I’m probably going to die live at Coachella,” she joked.
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Christine and the Queens released their second album, “Chris,” last fall. While it didn’t chart in America, the album went to No. 3 in the UK and No. 2 in France. The band has a full slate of other international festivals lined up for the summer, from Boston Calling in late May to Glastonbury in the UK in June.