Coachella 2025 was supposed to be a high point for techno heads, especially those amped for the rare appearance of Deadmau5’s darker alias, Testpilot, alongside the ever-enigmatic ZHU. Instead, the night turned into a chaotic footnote in festival history, as Deadmau5 (Joel Zimmerman) abruptly exited the stage mid-set—leaving fans stunned and the internet on fire.
It all went down on the Quasar stage, where both artists appeared ready to deliver a genre-blurring, mind-melting experience. But things quickly veered off-script. Zimmerman, seen sipping from a solo cup throughout the set, became visibly disoriented. The music cut out, confusion reigned, and within moments, Deadmau5 was escorted off stage, leaving ZHU to finish the set solo.
Cue damage control.
The next day, Zimmerman posted a blurry postmortem on Instagram, joking that he couldn’t even remember the performance. "I don’t think I had a cig? So… that’s good I guess?" he wrote—classic Mau5 humor, even if the tone felt a little too close to rock-bottom. He also hinted this might have been his last Coachella.
To soften the blow, he followed up with a pic of his cat looking as disappointed as the crowd probably felt. Apologies were made. Thanks were given. And he vowed to reset—quitting smoking, getting back to the studio, and trying to rebuild what the haze almost torched.
Fans are split. Some chalk it up to a legendary artist having a rough night. Others are questioning whether Zimmerman’s Testpilot project should land for good.
Either way, it was a moment. Maybe not the one we wanted—but definitely one we’ll remember.
Degenerate Raver’s Take:
"Deadmau5 rage-quitting Coachella mid-set is peak chaotic neutral energy. Bro turned his Testpilot set into a test of patience. Still better than waiting for Frank Ocean last year."