The full lineup for the 2013 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was unveiled on Thursday night (Jan. 24), and this year’s six-day, two-weekend extravaganza features some heavy-hitting performers. Aside from top-line artists like Blur, Phoenix, the Stone Roses and Red Hot Chili Peppers, however, Coachella will showcase a handful of unexpected reunions, intriguing side projects and the big-stage debuts of some of the year’s most buzzed-about artists.
PHOTOS: Behind The Scenes At Coachella 2012
While Coachella is still two and a half months away from touching down in Indio, Calif., check out Billboard’s list of the 10 most interesting inclusions on this year’s lineup:
Jurassic 5 – There’s another solid hip-hop showing in the Coachella lineup, and Jurassic 5’s reunion could be the genre’s most noteworthy performance. Friday night’s gig will mark a comeback performance from Chali 2na and company, after the L.A. underground collective officially split in 2007.
Grinderman – Coachella 2013 will also see the return of the Nick Cave side project Grinderman, which broke up back in December 2011 after their acclaimed (and appropriately titled) second album “Grinderman 2” was released on Anti- in 2010. Cave is poised for a busy 2013: on Feb. 18, his latest record with the Bad Seeds, “Push the Sky Away,” will be released, and he and the Bad Seeds are one of Coachella’s biggest acts slated to perform on Sunday.
Dog Blood – Looking for some big-name EDM at Coachella? Look no further than Dog Blood, a collaboration between Skrillex and Boys Noize set to perform on Friday night. Dog Blood has yet to release much music (save for last year’s “Next Order/Middle Finger” single), but the laptop-meets-analog side project will bring the party on Friday night’s lineup.
Earl Sweatshirt – After Odd Future tore down Coachella in 2011 and Frank Ocean crooned at last year’s fest, it’s time for the group’s Earl Sweatshirt to break big. The 18-year old MC is set to release his second full-length “Doris” in 2013, and who knows which OFWGKTA miscreants might stop by for his Friday set.
Shouting Matches – Leave it to Justin Vernon to pull a fast one on the Coachella guests (all in good fun, of course): he could have surely been among the festival headliners with a set from his moneymaker, Bon Iver, but instead opted to reunite an obscure blues-oriented side project called Shouting Matches. Their live shows are few and far between, and they’ve got no recorded music to their name, so Friday’s set could be an eye-opener for Vernon devotees.
Wu-Tang Clan – Wu-Tang heavyweights like Raekwon and Ghostface Killah frequently make their rounds at gigs and festivals, but seeing the Mighty Wu together in all its glory — something that hip-hop heads have not seen in a few years — is always a treat. The Clan hasn’t released a proper album since 2007’s “8 Diagrams,” though they hinted late last year via Facebook that a new album was “coming soon.”
The Postal Service – The indie world’s been waiting for a Postal Service comeback for years, and the long-rumored Ben Gibbard-Jimmy Tamborello reunion finally comes to fruition via Coachella’s Saturday night lineup. There might not be a new album on the way, but a deluxe reissue of their 2003 album “Give Up,” set for a February release, will give fans two new songs to pair with classics like “Such Great Heights.”
Postal Service Returns! Full Details on the Reunion
Zane Lowe – Coachella’s most interesting DJ set may come from Zane Lowe, the BBC1 DJ known for being ahead of the curve in a variety of genres since the late 90s, when he worked as an MTV VJ. Saturday guests tiring of more traditional fare should check out Lowe’s set for a change of pace.
Sparks – Despite rumors that a December 2010 gig in L.A. would be their last stateside performance, the long-running art-rock duo Sparks will perform a rare set on Sunday night. Those with a deep knowledge of 70s avant-rock likely already know about Sparks, though modern day indie rock fans of bands like Passion Pit and other falsetto-friendly acts would likely appreciate.
La Roux – After becoming a household name in 2009 thanks for the smash single “Bulletproof,” U.K. synth-rockers La Roux more or less disappeared from the United States, playing the occasional European festival while crafting their long-awaited sophomore album. Coachella diehards will recall that La Roux was originally on the 2012 lineup before quickly dropping out — let’s hope Elly Jackson Ben Langmaid successfully make the trip to Indio this year.