Lauryn Hill's Diaspora Calling! festival cuts the Fugees' set short

The Fugees' reunion was stopped early during Lauryn Hill's Diaspora Calling! festival, its first edition in the UK, after the show ran past its 11pm licensing cutoff, NME reported. Hill and Wyclef Jean took the stage together at Milton Keynes National Bowl on Friday, August 7, joined by Erykah Badu, Giggs, and Hill's sons YG Marley and Zion Marley.

The pair arrived onstage at 10pm and were still performing when their microphones were cut at 11pm. A message on the venue's screens read, "THANK YOU EVERYONE. We're sorry for the abrupt finish," explaining that licensing rules required the show to end on time.

Wyclef Jean told The Sun afterward, "We're really sad how it ended. We was just getting started, so we're hoping to continue next year," and said the sprawling lineup, which also included Tiwa Savage, Gunna and Little Simz on the bill, was meant to "remind everybody to come together."

Fans were harsher: on social media, attendees called the ending "ridiculous" and said sound quality suffered during much of Hill's set, with one writing that the night was "disorganised" despite Hill curating the bill herself. Footage that surfaced a week later, on August 14, showed comedian and host Dave Chappelle confronting festival staff about the cut, accusing them of ruining a historic moment, NME reported.

The Fugees, who broke up in 1997 after two studio albums including the classic 1996 record The Score, have had a fraught reunion history: their 2024 US tour was called off, and member Pras Michel later sued Lauryn Hill for fraud, alleging she padded the tour budget with "unnecessary and, most likely fictitious expenses," a claim Hill called "baseless." Hill and Jean have continued performing together since, including at Roberta Flack's memorial in 2025.

Hill and Jean are booked to reunite again soon, set to co-headline the 2026 Global Citizen Festival in September.