Guns N’ Roses Classic Lineup to Reunite For Coachella: majority of iconic 80’s group to headline Indio, California festival, along with stadium dates.
Well it appears (almost) official: according to Billboard.com, the classic lineup of G N’R appear to be joining forces for a 2016 tour, namely as headliners for next year’s Coachella Music Festival.
This follows weeks of rumors, and teases by the band itself: the group’s official website now bears the classic logo, while several theater goers got to see a short clip of an audience cheering to Guns N’ Roses tunes.
According to the article the group will play both weekends of the Coachella festival, along with an upcoming stadium tour, which will see them at the newly opened Las Vegas Arena.
But there’s a catch. While Slash and Duff McKagan will be re-teaming with Axl Rose, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin has not been confirmed, and this also goes for former drummers Steven Adler and Matt Sorum.
According to Blabbermouth.net, the lineup may be fleshed out by some of Rose’s recent co-horts: guitarist Richard Fortus and drummer Frank Ferrer along with longtime keyboard player Dizzy Reed, who joined the group on their Use Your Illusion double albums.
And tickets will be steep, rumored to be around $250-$275 a pop.
This, along with Rose’s unpredictable behavior, tardiness and erratic vocal performances will prove one of the diciest propositions for music fans in 2016. But for a chance to get a glimmer of nostalgia, I expect them to make plenty of $.
Personally I’d love to see Appetite for Destruction played in its entirety. That would certainly tempt me, although a fear of flaky Axl and those prices are daunting.
The next question: will this pave the way for new material, and perhaps a “full” reunion at some point? All bets are off, and with a partnership this fractious, things could go tits up at any moment. It should be interesting to see how things unfold.
Are you excited or cynical at he prospect of a Guns N’Roses reunion? Tell us in the comments.
The full official lineup or Coachella (also rumored to feature a reunited LCD Soundsystem) will be announced in early January. I’ll keep you posted.
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