Lana Del Rey Says Her Tour Manager Quit a Month Before Coachella: ‘Never Got a Phone Call, Probably Never Will’
Lana Del Rey reigned as the Queen of Indio, Calif., when she headlined Coachella last weekend (April 13), but one particular exit from her kingdom left the “Video Games” singer especially peeved.
In an Instagram post reflecting on her performance shared to her Instagram account, Del Rey revealed that her tour manager, Peter Abbott, quit just over a month before she took the stage.
After thanking all the key players that made her set possible — including her fans, her band, Wally Crowder (who helped choreograph her motorcycle entrance) and special guests Billie Eilish, Jon Batiste and Jack Antonoff — Del Rey revealed that a team member had to step up as tour manager on short notice.
“[Thank you] Emily for stepping up as tour manager when Pete quit for no reason after 15 years,” Del Rey wrote, referencing Emily Holt before continuing about Abbott. “He was butt hurt that I got 10 comped bikes for free from Wally and randomly decided he was more of a stage designer than a tour manager… Never got a phone call probably never will. Still grateful for the 15 years though.”
Billboard has made attempts to reach Abbott for his response.
Del Rey’s appearance at this year’s Coachella comes a decade after she last performed at the festival. The “A&W” singer was originally scheduled for a prime Coachella spot back in 2020, but that year was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From her lyrics to her imagery, Del Rey has long been synonymous with Coachella and its aesthetic. She even played on that synergy with billboards leading into Indio that read “Has anyone else died for you?” — a reference to how Del Rey was effectively crucified by the media after her infamous 2012 Saturday Night Live performance.
“No worries – 37 days was more than enough time to put together an entire headlining set all by ourselves. Not stressful at all,” Del Rey’s Instagram post continued. “Way to go Emily you f—ing killed it with grace. Thank you to my managers Ben and Ed for making me laugh the entire way through everything for my whole freaking life even though none of it ever makes any sense. PS please send me an email If you decide to quit this year- 15 years is a long time for us too.”
The rest of Del Rey’s statement continued with her thanks to various collaborators, making for a deeply personal caption for a carousel of photographs from her performance. Among those photos are rehearsal footage, flicks of her background singers and dancers, and an adorable backstage picture of Del Rey, Batiste and Antonoff.
Last year, the “Summertime Sadness” singer notched her ninth top 10 entry on the Billboard 200 with Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, which earned five Grammy nominations, including for album of the year. Del Rey is set to return to the stage Friday (April 19) for round 2 of her headlining stint.
Read the star’s full statement below.
Kyle-Brandon Denis
Billboard
