Coachella Host Made 'Some Sacrifices' to Bring Kanye West's 'Sunday Service' to the Desert

Yeezus is taking on Easter Sunday at Coachella this year, but not without "some sacrifices" made by festival co-founder Paul Tollett. Goldenvoice's CEO and President told Billboard Wednesday that though they never considered not having Kanye West and his Gospel choir perform at the annual desert festival, it was a "challenging" request.

"We said 'of course,' instantly," Tollett said to Billboard. "It's challenging for us because we've never done this before."

"We've got some challenges production-wise and we've got a team on it right now to try and do something really special," he added. "We feel this is going to be a really big moment of the show."

Kanye's "Sunday Service" has been a trending topic all over social media in recent weeks. Wife Kim Kardashian appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live Tuesday and called the service a "healing experience."

"It's so emotional," Kardashian said Tuesday. "It's a musical experience that is pretty moving."

"There is no praying, no sermon, there's no word," she added. "It's just music and it's a feeling."

The decision to have Kanye perform during Weekend 2 comes months after the rapper's initial announcement he would not perform at the California festival, due to Goldenvoice refusing to build a giant dome for his set. The change comes despite the "I Love It" rapper previously describing the event as "artistically limiting."

His performance will take place Sunday, April 21 at 9 a.m. on "The Mountain," a hillside campground area within the festival grounds. A limited amount of Weekend 2 passes will be available on Friday, April 5 at 6 p.m. ET.

"Kanye has always done great at Coachella for us," Tollett said, reflecting on Kanye's 2006 and 2011 Coachella performances.

The rapper has also played at other Goldenvoice-hosted festivals; FYF Fest in 2015 and Camp Flognaw in 2018.

"There's been some sacrifices for us to make this happen," Tollett says. "It might be hard for the industry to call us to buy tickets because I have to make sure Kanye fans are there."

Goldenvoice did not immediately respond to Newsweek's request for comment.

Coachella will begin with Weekend 1 on April 12 and will conclude Weekend 2 on Easter Sunday. Headlining acts include Ariana Grande, Childish Gambino and a DJ set from actor Idris Elba.

"I've worked my whole life to play at Coachella. I made it at 46," Elba told People after his performance was announced. "I nearly passed out when I found out."

The Luther star first became interested in music at the age of four, according to his People interview. "I was mesmerized by the turntable going around and around," he said.

Though better known for his acting gigs, the 46-year-old started spinning records as a teenager, working his way up to various club from Los Angeles to Ibiza. Arguably his more notable DJ gig, however, was last year at the nuptials of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.