Guns N' Roses will reunite its lineup featuring long-estranged original members Axl Rose and Slash to perform at the Coachella Music & Arts Festival, Billboard reports, citing "multiple sources." In addition to headlining the Indio, Calif., event in April, the band "is also negotiating with promoters to play as many as 25 football stadiums in North America in the summer of 2016," reports Billboard.
Lead singer Rose and guitarist Slash last performed together in 1993, according to Rolling Stone.
Fans hopeful for a reunion have recently been encouraged by several occurrences on the internet that they have seen as positive omens. As rumors continued to swirl, on Christmas Day GNR updated its website to feature the "Appetite For Destruction"-era band logo, and one day later, teasers including its song "Welcome To The Jungle" were shown in movie theaters hosting "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," according to Ultimate Classic Rock. And one day after that, bassist Duff McKagan tweeted a photo of himself holding his bass, with his LAMF tattoo visible and with the caption "LAMF." McKagan displayed LAMF on his amp during the tours for "Use Your Illusion" as well as in the "Yesterdays" music video, according to Loudwire.
LAMF pic.twitter.com/NvvlhUOOtf
— Duff McKagan (@DuffMcKagan) December 28, 2015
In August, a Swedish interviewer for Aftonbladet told Slash, "I've heard that you've made friends with Axl Rose again," and Slash responded, "It was probably way overdue, you know. But it's...you know, it's very cool at this point. You know, let some of that, sort of, negative ... dispel some of that negative stuff that was going on for so long," according to Loudwire.
Since the disillusion of the classic Guns N' Roses lineup, Rose had been touring under the GNR name with different musicians, but guitarists DJ Ashba and Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal in July confirmed that they had left the group, according to Rolling Stone. In the post-Slash era, the Rose-led GNR only released one album, 2008's "Chinese Democracy."
