Kesha To Perform At Coachella & Bob Dylan Music Festival

Kesha has some big news amid her legal battle with music producer Dr. Luke. The singer-songwriter will be a surprise performer at Coachella this year.

The “Tick Tock” singer will make a not-so secret appearance at this weekend’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Kesha lost her plea to end her Sony contract back in February, but she’s still in a battle with former producer Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald. She claims that he emotionally, mentally, and physically abused her during their 10-year working relationship.

Reports are claiming that Kesha is still hoping to make a musical comeback at the festival after not being able to release new music for nearly three years.

“Kesha is beginning to realize that she needs to take her career into her own hands, and this is her way of doing just that,” an insider told X17online.

It’s not clear what day Kesha will perform, but she’s not the only one who’s making a comeback at Coachella this year. Guns N’ Roses and LCD Soundsystem are also returning to the stage after not touring together for several years.

Kesha is also returning to the stage for a special tribute concert for Bob Dylan. She will perform again in May at Dylan Fest, a two-night special in honor of Bob Dylan’s 75th Birthday. The event will take place on May 23 to 24 at the Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. According to celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, this event would be the first public performance for Kesha, but that’s no longer the case with the reports that she’s also performing at Coachella.

She will not be performing alone, though. There will be over 30 other artists performing the legendary artist’s hits, including Emmylou Harris, Jason Isbell, Kacey Musgraves, and Wynonna & The Big Noise. See the lineup and Kesha’s performance dates below.

• May 23-24 Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium (Dylan Fest)
• June 18 Bowling Green, KY – PickAxe Summerfest
• July 30 Dubuque, IA – Dubuque County Fair

Kesha is the perfect choice for the event since she has lived in Nashville with her mom, Patricia “Pebe” Sebert. She also performed a stripped down version of Dylan’s song “Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right” back in 2011. Check out the video below.

Last week on April 6, a judge dismissed all but one of Kesha’s claims against Dr. Luke. A few days before the court ruling, Kesha openly admitted to fans that she would be “offered my freedom” only if she publicly apologized and took back the rape allegations that she made against him.

A representative of Dr. Luke also released a statement, saying “The only thing Kesha is not free to do is to continue to lie about Dr. Luke.”

The judge has decided to side with Sony and dismissed her case, saying that her claims against Dr. Luke are unsubstantiated. According to TMZ, the judge said that Kesha was “unreasonable” for not accepting Sony’s offer to work with other music producers. As for the allegations she made against Dr. Luke, the judge said that rape should not be a “gender-motivated hate crime.”

“Although [Luke’s] alleged actions were directed to Kesha, who is female, [her claims] do not allege that [Luke] harbored animus toward women or was motivated by gender animus when he allegedly behaved violently toward Kesha… Every rape is not a gender-motivated hate crime.”

Although this recent case was dismissed by the judge, the singer still has another lawsuit against the producer in Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, Dr. Luke’s Kemosabe Records has announced layoffs that have nothing to do with Kesha’s case. The record label claims that they’re only downsizing, according to Pitchfork.

“Kemosabe Records and Sony elected to downsize certain departments. Some of those functions will be handled by Sony as part of their joint venture relationship. Kemosabe continues to be fully operational and is excited about its current releases and the upcoming year.”

In addition to her upcoming shows, Kesha has been performing with her new band The Yeast Infection in Nashville. She has posted videos on her social media accounts over the holidays, in which she’s seen singing punk-rock versions of her hit songs “Blow” and “Timber” as well as a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love.”

Do you think Kesha can make a musical comeback amid her legal battle? Sound off below in the comments section.

[Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images for Delete Blood Cancer DKMS]