Weezer’s bassist, Scott Shriner, returned to the stage on Saturday, April 12 following his wife Jillian Lauren’s shooting and arrest earlier in the week.
The “Hash Pipe” band did not directly address Lauren’s arrest when they performed on the Mojave stage during the first weekend of the Indio, California music festival.
However, according to Variety, Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo may have made one oblique reference to their bassist’s difficult week when he mentioned it was time to “let out all these emotions.”
“We were making the Weezer movie back in Los Angeles, but when Coachella called and asked if we could make a surprise appearance, we said ‘Heck yeah.’ It’s so great to be here with all you guys and let out all these emotions,” Cuomo, 54, said.
Weezer were only added to the bill for the first weekend of Coachella, so they are not expected to return next Saturday at the Empire Polo Club. The band were announced for Coachella as a last-minute addition mere days before Lauren was taken into custody after a shootout with police outside of her Los Angeles residence on Wednesday, April 9.
Lauren was shot by officers undertaking a search for an unrelated hit-and-run suspect and then fled into her residence. A 9-millimeter handgun was recovered by LAPD officers inside her house.
When police determined Lauren’s shooting wound was not life threatening, she was taken into custody and booked on suspicion of attempted murder.
“On April 8, 2025, around 3:25 p.m., the California Highway Patrol requested a backup locating three misdemeanor hit-and-run suspects, who fled into a residential neighborhood,” an LAPD press release read. “As the officers were in the rear yard of that residence, they observed a female, later identified as 51-year-old Jillian Shriner, in the yard of a neighboring residence armed with a handgun.”
Lauren was subsequently released from custody after posting a $1 million bond on Wednesday. She is scheduled to appear at a court hearing on April 30.
Shriner, 59, broke his silence about his wife’s arrest on Thursday, April 10 when he told TMZ that the couple were doing “alright.” The bassist also confirmed he would move forward with Weezer’s Coachella performance even after his wife’s shooting.
Shriner joined Weezer in 2001 following the band’s three-year hiatus, as a replacement for Mikey Welsh. He officially made his debut with the alternative rockers on their self-titled third album (a.k.a. The Green Album).
The musician married author Lauren, 51, in November 2005. The couple later adopted their two sons, Tariku Moon and Jovi Starshine, in 2007 and 2009, respectively.
Coachella continues with headlining sets from Travis Scott and Green Day on Saturday, before Megan Thee Stallion and Post Malone close off the first weekend on Sunday, April 13.
