New York fans of Kanye West have some serious bad luck. At this weekend's Meadows festival, Kanye ended his performance in the middle of the set, citing a "family emergency." Bustle reached out to Kanye's representative for comment and has not yet received a response. Though fans are hoping that Kanye and his family are alright, the audience was undeniably disappointed when the set suddenly ended — especially because this isn't the first time they had to miss out on one of the rapper's performances. Update: A CNN reporter tweeted that Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room on Sunday and was not harmed. Kardashian's spokesperson told Bustle in a statement, "Kim Kardashian West was held up at gunpoint inside her Paris hotel room this evening, by two armed masked men dressed as police officers. She is badly shaken but physically unharmed."
Update 2: The Meadows festival released a statement on Kanye ending his set early that reads, "Due to a family emergency, Kanye West was forced to end his performance towards the end of his set. We appreciate the great show he put on for fans to close out the inaugural Meadows Festival. Our thoughts are with West and his family."
Earlier: This past June, Kanye was a headliner for the last day of Governors Ball, another New York music festival, but the event was canceled due to weather. That night, he tried to hold a makeup performance at Webster Hall, however it was also canceled due to the size of the crowd. Since then, Kanye has performed in New York, most recently for two dates of his Saint Pablo tour at Madison Square Garden, so hopefully, some Meadows attendees were able to catch him then.
The sudden stop at Meadows on Sunday night was definitely shocking. Kanye started his performance about 30 minutes after it was scheduled to begin, and ended it abruptly about 50 minutes later, in the middle of "Heartless." Originally, the set was listed as lasting for one hour and 45 minutes. You can watch the rapper end the show in the video below.
Right up through the moment when Kanye suddenly cut the music, the set was excellent. The performance started with "Father Stretch My Hands" as fireworks shot out of the stage and the excited crowd danced and sang along. From there, he performed a mix of classic hits, like "Jesus Walks" and "Flashing Lights," and songs from The Life of Pablo, including "Famous," "Wolves," and "Freestyle 4." Then, during "Heartless," the music stopped and Kanye quickly said, "Sorry ... family emergency, I need to stop the show." A few minutes later, someone came on stage and told fans there'd be a 10-minute intermission, before returning to the microphone just a few minutes later and telling the crowd that due to the emergency, Kanye had to leave and the show was over.
While Kanye may have ended his set earlier than expected — for an extremely valid and understandable reason — fans should be glad they were able to see him at all. His performance was full of energy and he interacted with the crowd throughout his set, even coming into the audience during "Mercy" and "Don't Like." From the moment Kanye came on stage, under a set of lights that set the same vibe as the Saint Pablo tour, the crowd was engaged and having a blast. Everywhere you turned, there was someone in a Kanye 2020 shirt, an "I Feel Like Pablo" hoodie, or some other Yeezy-themed apparel. And though they were all visibly disappointed to see the show end, fans this loyal are surely already looking forward to his next New York performance.
