Johnny Marr let the cat out of the bag over the weekend, but New Order today confirmed that it will play two Coachella warm-up concerts with the former Smiths guitarist in Las Vegas and Santa Barbara, Calif., in April — and announced they’ll play “more U.S. dates later in the year.”
Johnny Marr will follow his previously announced U.K. solo tour with an 18-date North American run in April and May that’s built around his appearances at the two-weekend Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival — and which includes dates with New Order in Las Vegas and Santa Barbara, Calif.
It’s been nearly a week since the Coachella lineup was unveiled, and there’s little elaboration on one of this year’s surprises: the unlikely reunion of the Violent Femmes for the two-weekend California festival this April, something once thought impossible because of the bad blood engendered over a Wendy’s TV commercial.
The original lineup of The Stone Roses will makes its U.S. debut at April’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, joining headliners Blur, Phoenix and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, plus a bill that also includes New Order, OMD, both Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Grinderman, Johnny Marr and more.
You can’t say they’re not persistent: Organizers of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival apparently continue to make offers to land a reunion of The Smiths to headline the annual festival, with Morrissey reporting this week that he has yet again turned down an offer to have the defunct indie giants top the 2013 bill.
The reunion of 2 Tone-era ska giants The Specials rolls into 2013 as the band this week announced a 10-date spring tour of the U.K. and even hinted it would fulfill its promise to return to America, tweeting this morning that “The Specials are discussing a possible two part TOUR OF THE USA in March and late August 2013.”
The Jesus and Mary Chain are no strangers to enlisting singing actresses for on-stage duets — Scarlett Johansson famously joined the band at Coachella to sing ‘Just Like Honey’ — and now they drafted ‘Mad Men’ star Jessica Paré to pitch in on ‘Sometimes Always’ and ‘Just Like Honey’ at two recent North American shows.
Q&A: Daniel Ash on Love and Rockets’ reunion, his new band — and figuring out how to play “So Alive” 
Q&A: Chris Frantz talks Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club and new book ‘Remain in Love’ 
Q&A: Steve Wynn on The Dream Syndicate’s first new album in nearly 30 years 
Q&A: Bauhaus’ David J on his ‘accidental’ concept album ‘Not Long For This World’ 
Q&A: Peter Murphy on ‘Ninth,’ Bauhaus’ break-up, reuniting Dalis Car 
Q&A: Joey Santiago on Pixies’ ‘Doolittle’ tour, possible ‘Surfer Rosa’ shows, new album talk 
Q&A: Prefab Sprout’s Paddy McAloon on new album, changing the world with music 
Q&A: Peter Hook talks ‘Unknown Pleasures’ tour, re-recording Joy Division 