The Daily Frequency (1/26/15)
–Written by Kevin Madert
Today, a lot of things happened in the world of music. Here are some of them.
1. The music world was in a mini-fervor earlier today upon learning that founding member of Blink-182 Tom Delonge had decided to “leave the band indefinitely” to “work on his non-musical endeavors,” (we can only assume he means Angels & Airwaves). The band’s remaining members (Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker) shortly thereafter announced they’d be moving forward, keeping all the band’s previous commitments by replacing Delonge with Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba. A sad day for fans everywhere, right? As if to say, “not so fast!” Delonge released the following statement through his publicist a few hours later:
Contrary to reports, Tom DeLonge has not left Blink 182. “I never quit the band,” he says. “Actually, I was on the phone discussing a possible Blink-182 event in New York City when I heard the ‘news.’ The ONLY truth here is that I have commitments that limit my availability this year. I love Blink-182 and I’m not leaving.”
While this could in theory be good news for Blink fans, there’s a definite air of “what the hell is going on” here. We’ll try to keep you updated as these odd events unfold. Via Rolling Stone and Alternative Press.
2. The surprises roll on: Bassnectar is headed back to the storied Red Rocks Amphitheater for a fifth straight year – something he’d seemed to indicate wouldn’t be happening again. What’s more, he’ll be there not for one, nor two, but three consecutive nights (May 29, 30, and 31). Joining him is a stacked collection of musicians (9 in all) ranging from big names in bass music like Benga and Joker to sleeper picks like trip-hop legend Nightmares on Wax. Check the flyer out below, and keep up to date on Bassnectar’s official site. Via Facebook.
3. From one kind of rock to another (I really couldn’t resist). Metal mainstays Slipknot announced today their summer plans, and they’re not going on holiday in the South of France. The nine-member nu-metal outfit will embark on the “Summer’s Last Stand” tour across North America, making 25+ stops from July to September – including a visit to our neck of the woods on August 11. Along for the ride are several acts plenty capable of raising mayhem themselves: Lamb of God, Bullet For My Valentine, and Motionless In White. Tickets will be available shortly on Slipknot’s official site, but for now you can check the full list of dates below to see if these masked gentlemen will be headed your way this summer. Via RevolverMag.
Slipknot “Summer’s Last Stand” Tour Dates
Jul. 24 – West Palm Beach, Fla. @ Cruzan Amphitheater | Jul. 25 – Tampa, Fla. @ MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheater | Jul. 26 – Atlanta, Ga. @ Aaron’s Amphitheater at Lakewood | Jul. 28 – Detroit, Mich. @ DTE Energy Music Theatre | Jul. 29 – Darien Center, N.Y. @ Darien Lake Performing Arts Center | Jul. 31 – Saratoga Springs, N.Y. @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center | Aug. 01 – Wantagh, N.Y. @ Nikon at Jones Beach Theater | Aug. 02 – Hartford, Conn. @ Xfinity Theatre | Aug. 04 – Boston, Mass. @ Xfinity Center | Aug. 05 – Holmdel, N.J. @ PNC Bank Arts Center | Aug. 06 – Pittsburgh, Pa. @ First Niagara Pavilion | Aug. 08 – Toronto, Ontario @ Molson Amphitheater | Aug. 11 – Washington, D.C. @ Jiffy Lube Live | Aug. 12 – Virginia Beach, Va. @ Farm Bureau Live | Aug. 14 – Indianapolis, Ind. @ Klipsch Music Center | Aug. 15 – Chicago, Ill. @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheater | Aug. 16 – St. Louis, Mo. @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheater | Aug. 19 – Denver, Colo. @ Red Rocks Amphitheater | Aug. 21 – Salt Lake City, Utah @ USANA Amphitheater | Aug. 24 – Vancouver, British Columbia @ Rogers Arena | Aug. 26 – Concord, Calif. @ Concord Pavilion | Aug. 28 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ MGM Resort Festival Lot | Aug. 29 – Phoenix, Ariz. @ Ak-Chin Pavilion | Aug. 30 – Albuquerque, N.M. @ Isleta Amphitheater | Sep. 02 – Austin, Texas @ Austin 360 Amphitheater | Sep. 04 – Houston, Texas @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion | Sep. 05 – Dallas, Texas @ Gexa Energy Pavilion
4. We end with a cancellation. SnowBall – a Colorado-based music festival begun in 2011 – officially confirmed they’d be taking 2015 off to regroup and look ahead to 2016. The festival usually takes place in March, so with little word from organizers until this point it was pretty apparent this news was coming. The silver lining is in the details, as you can see below.
“While we’re bummed to not be back for 2015, we’re already extremely excited about where we’re headed — back to the Colorado Mountains where the dream began [and where it will live on forever]”
This is good news for fans who have been there from the start; the festival’s move into downtown Denver always felt a little off. Now we wait until March 2016 and hope organizers do indeed have something epic planned for SnowBall’s triumphant return to the Rockies. Via Facebook.