With over 30 shows scheduled across the globe, 2019 is set to a big year for alt-rock icons—and now Rock & Roll Hall of Famers—the Cure. A week ago they added their first U.S. dates of the year to mix, as they will be headlining both weekends of Austin City Limits. Now, Stateside fans have another U.S. Cure show to look forward to.
On May 3, frontman Robert Smith revealed on SiriusXM's "Debatable" talk show that he is curating a music festival in Los Angeles to take place later this year, which his GRAMMY-nominated group will headline.
"We'll be announcing another one [music festival] later this month, which will be a really special one, actually, because we're curating it," Smith told Debatable hosts Mark Goodman and Alan Light, as '80s music blog Slicing Up Eyeballs shared. He continued:
"It's going to be on the West Coast. There's going to be about ten other acts, all hand-picked. I just wanted to do something a bit like [the Cure's 40th anniversary concert at London's] Hyde Park. Something a bit celebratory. It isn't going to be a Disintegration show, I'll be very clear about that. It's going to be just a celebratory show with a load of artists who all in their own right deserve to headline festivals."
Smith said the festival "will be in and around L.A.," and he hasn't decided how many days the event will span. "I can't wait to announce it. It's such a great bill," he said.
The Cure will be performing five nights of special shows at the Sydney Opera House later this month to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their classic album Disintegration, with the May 30th event being available to watch via livestream.
"I don't really want to dedicate the rest of the year to celebrating something that happened 30 years ago. I'd much rather celebrate what we're doing now. The idea of the global stream of Disintegration was really to give me a bit of an out in case I decided we're not going to do it again. I've got some ideas of how we could incorporate it into some of the things we might do later in the year," Smith explained.
As for the Cure's forthcoming 14th studio album, which Smith teased back on Dec. 13 on "Debatable," Smith told the hosts that it should be out before the end of 2019.
"My only dilemma at the moment is getting a running order that works. I've gone through so many different running orders…My favorite running order is about 47 minutes of just relentless doom and gloom. But I actually think the album needs just something ever-so-slightly off kilter to make the rest of the songs work better," he revealed.
It looks like ACL and his soon-to-be-announced L.A. fest will be the group's only U.S. shows this year (other than their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction performance last month), but Smith shared they are plotting a 2020 North American jaunt.
"We're already talking about what we're going to do coming back to America next year. I want to do something with new songs. I want to bring a new show to America rather than do something nostalgic," he said.
In addition to ACL, you can also catch the Cure at Mad Cool in Madrid, Glastonbury in the U.K. and over 20 other European festivals this summer.
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