"For him to actually do this the way that he wanted to do, I'm just super proud," James tells PEOPLE at Absolut Hottest Brunch: Desert Edition in Indio, Calif.
Credit: Michael Simon; Kevin Mazur/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Headlining Coachella is something Justin Bieber has “always wanted to do,” his longtime collaborator and friend, DJ Tay James, says
- “I’m just honestly proud of him and the journey that he’s been on,” James tells PEOPLE. “And for him to actually do this the way that he wanted to do, I’m just super proud”
- James kicked off the day at the Absolut Hottest Brunch: Desert Edition just steps from the festival grounds, which he says was “the best way to kick off the big day”
DJ Tay James has been on the road with Justin Bieber for nearly two decades, and Coachella is no different.
Bieber, 32, made his first of two performances as headliner of the music festival in Indio, Calif., on Saturday, April 11, and his longtime friend and collaborator says the singer is playing by his own rules with the big show.
"I've been with him for 15 years, and this is something that I know he's always wanted to do," James tells PEOPLE at the Absolut Hottest Brunch: Desert Edition at a villa steps from the festival grounds in Indio, Calif., hours before Bieber's set. "And he's doing it his way, and I'm happy for him."
"I'm only here for Justin. If he wasn't gracing the stage, I'd be at home," James, 38, says. "I'm just honestly proud of him and the journey that he's been on. And for him to actually do this the way that he wanted to do, I'm just super proud."
Credit: Michael Simon
Before heading to the festival to witness one of his "best friends gracing the stage," James got behind the DJ booth at the Absolut brunch, with an Absolut Tabasco spicy lemonade in hand, which he says was "the best way to kick off the big day."
"At this point, I am a [Coachella] seasoned vet. I feel like I have mad championship rings of surviving Coachella, and I'm just happy to be here for this magical weekend."
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The Baltimore native joined Bieber as his tour DJ in 2009, and says that "everything I've always wanted to do, I've been able to do," thanks in part to the "Daisies" singer.
"I started off as just a tour DJ that transitioned to being a DJ, then also being in the studio and creating records with him, and our friendship has evolved," he says of Bieber. "It's not even like a friendship — it's more like a brotherhood. And for me, that's the most important thing."
"It's not work," he continues. "When you're working with friends, it's not work at all. Even with Absolut, I'm friends with the organizers of the event, so it's not like I'm working for anyone — we're just reconnecting."
Credit: Allen Berezovsky/Getty
James says he's focused now on "trying to find new, eventful ways to help connect people through music."
"I feel like that's why I'm here on Earth to do, is just try to connect everyone through this baseline, which is music, which is a universal language that we all love," he says.
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