Update (01/04, 11:25 p.m. EST): Following Coachella's lineup announcement, LCD Soundsystem revealed that 2016 tour dates are "coming soon." Slash and Duff McKagan have both teased on social media that they are back in Guns N' Roses.
Both LCD Soundsystem and a version of Guns N' Roses featuring Axl Rose and Slash will reunite at Coachella this year, the* New York Times* reports. An unnamed source with direct knowledge of the California festival's lineup has confirmed to the Times that both bands will play on April 15-17 and 22-24 in Indio. Update (01/01 1:52 a.m.): Axl Rose alluded to the reunion reports in a New Year's Day tweet:
X content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
Rumors of LCD Soundsystem reuniting surfaced earlier this year, as reported in October by Consequence of Sound. At that time, DFA co-founder Jonathan Galkin denied the rumors in an email to Pitchfork, but speculation resumed when LCD Soundsystem emerged on Christmas Eve with a new single, "Christmas Will Break Your Heart".
In July 2010, LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy explained why he was choosing to end the group at that time, hinting at both the final show at Madison Square Garden and that he might reunite the band five years later:
He continued:
As for Guns N' Roses, though they never officially broke up, Axl Rose has been the band's only original member since 1997, when McKagan departed. This version of the band has toured on-and-off since the early aughts, but their official output has been slim. In 2008, the band released the long-gestating Chinese Democracy.
In the interim, Slash, McKagan, and drummer Matt Sorum (who replaced Adler in Guns N' Roses in 1990) formed Velvet Revolver, which was fronted by late Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland.
In recent years, there hasn't been any love lost between Axl and the original members. "Slash either should not have been in Guns to begin with or should have left after Lies," Axl said in 2009. "In a nutshell, personally I consider him a cancer and better removed, avoided—and the less anyone heard of him or his supporters, the better."
But this year, Axl and Slash reconciled. "It was probably way overdue, you know," Slash said. "But it’s, you know, it’s very cool at this point."