A representative for Kate Bush this morning is shooting down a widely publicized anecdote in The New Yorker that alleges the Coachella festival turned down a chance to host the stage-shy singer’s first-ever U.S. concert because “no one is going to understand it.”
A spokeperson for Bush released the following statement to Pitchfork:
“It was never Kate’s intention to play any more shows than she did in London. The show was conceived for a very specific type of venue. No discussions were ever had with Kate about playing any festival, including Coachella.”
The story published this week by The New Yorker contains a passage in which Marc Geiger, a William Morris Endeavor booking agent and the co-founder of Lollapalooza, claims he pitched a Bush appearance at Coachella following the singer’s 22-night run of sold-out performances in London in 2014.
In addition to curating the lineup, (Coachella co-founder Paul) Tollett had booked the hundred and fifty acts himself, negotiating all the offers with agents—a six-month process. He also fielded a lot of pitches that he had to turn down. Geiger, of W.M.E., described their working method: “I’ll say, ‘Kate Bush!’ And he’ll go, ‘No!,’ and we’ll talk through it. I’ll say, ‘She’s never played here, and she just did thirty shows in the U.K. for the first time since the late seventies. You gotta do it! Have to!’ ‘No! No one is going to understand it.’ ”
Furthermore, John Seabrook, the author of the New Yorker piece, this morning on Twitter characterized Geiger’s quote about Bush playing Coachella as “purely hypothetical.”
Yes to be clear – Marc Geiger does not represent Kate Bush. Kate Bush DID NOT approach Coachella. It was purely hypothetical. No news here. https://t.co/w6itHzQ0nI
— John Seabrook (@jmseabrook) April 11, 2017
The London run, a series of highly theatrical concerts, marked Bush’s first full public performances since 1979. She’s never played a concert in the U.S. — and does not appear likely to anytime soon.
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Next you guys are going to post the article where the Coachella guy says that they want Kate Bush.
To be fair, nobody would understand it.
Nobody understand Coachella.