With a huge reduction in the UK government caring about coronavirus I fully expect a big return to live music. Many artists with postponed tours now seem to be getting back on tour and rescheduling dates from up to two year ago. The eventual and inevitable removal of isolation rules and travel restrictions will also bring back more bands from overseas.
In the US, the “When We Were Young” festival has been announced.
Many elder emos in the UK like myself have already began agonising over ways to justify a trip to Las Vegas. Seeing My Chemical Romance and Paramore on the same day does sound like a dream show, but the pessimist in me does ponder if it would really be worth the journey.
There are a lot of bands for one day so there will be multiple stages and lots of planning required to see who you want to see – there’s no way you’ll get to see them all. I’m only 30 so calling the festival “When We Were Young” is a little triggering. I’m not that old – am I? How does this co-headline with MCR and Paramore work? What if they are headlining different stages AT THE SAME TIME?
The upshot of this though, is that it looks like the return of my much loved Paramore. A band I have been moderately obsessed with since first reading a an article about them in Kerrang around 2005. I really enjoyed Hayley’s solo stuff, but there have been hints of another Paramore album being the works for a while, so I predict a studio album from the trio before the end of 2022 and hopefully a live appearance in the UK.
I’m also the lucky owner of tickets to My Chemical Romance’s rescheduled Milton Keynes shows in the UK. It is highly unlikely we will see another album from them any time soon though, so I assume that outside of the shows they will continue with solo projects.
Another artist we’ve not heard a lot from in a while is Florence and the Machine. We did get the Cruella soundtrack last year, so I wonder if the wheels are in motion on another album for 2022.
Over in glossy pop land, Harry Styles has just announced a huge European tour, including Wembley Stadium, so I would expect some new music from him before the year is out.
Taylor Swift has given us a lot in terms of releases over the course of the pandemic. Folklore in particular helped me through a lot of being inside. I wonder if a tour may be on the cards.
And finally, in December it will be 20 years since Girls Aloud won Pop Stars: The Rivals, scoring the Christmas number 1. A reunion is highly unlikely due to the shocking loss of Sarah Harding last year, but I’d be surprised if the girls let the milestone pass with acknowledging it in some way.
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