Don Toliver lined up special guests Justin Bieber, James Blake and Kali Uchis for the trap singer’s Saturday night set at Rolling Loud California.
Performing just two weeks after the release of his latest LP Love Sick, Toliver enlisted the three guest singers to bring their collaborative album tracks to life live: Blake first appeared for “Let Her Go,” followed by Uchis (the live debut of “4 Me”) and finally Bieber, who stopped by for a Future-less rendition of “Private Landing.”
Bieber’s appearance — his first public performance since Sept. 2022, at Brazil’s Rock in Rio — was especially surprising, considering just days earlier the singer finally canceled his long-postponed Justice World Tour with roughly 80 shows still on the docket.
Bieber first announced that he would be “taking a break” from performing in June 2022, one month after his tour began, following his Ramsay-Hunt syndrome diagnosis, which left his face partially paralyzed. At the time, he canceled a dozen shows on the North American leg of the tour.
“Earlier this year, I went public about my battle with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, where my face was partly paralyzed,” Bieber wrote in a statement at the time. “As the result of this illness, I was not able to complete the North America leg of the Justice Tour.” Still, he traveled to Europe and performed six shows as well as a set at Rock in Rio before deciding that the strain was too much on his body.
“After getting off stage, the exhaustion overtook me and I realized that I need to make my health the priority right now,” he explained. “So I’m going to take a break from touring for the time being. I’m going to be ok, but I need time to rest and get better.”
Rolling Loud California concludes Sunday with headliner Future, plus sets from Lil Uzi Vert, Polo G, Coi Leray, Sheck Wes, and more.
