The Replacements are mounting a comeback.
The influential ’80s alternative rock group are listed on the line-up for three Riot Fest shows, marking their return to the live stage for the first time in more than 20 years.
Organizers of Riot Fest today distributed their 2013 poster, which shows the Replacements prominently billed for dates in Toronto (Aug. 24-25), Chicago (Sept. 13-15) and Denver (Sept. 21-22).
Other big names confirmed to play some or all of the Riot Fest shows include Blink 182, Iggy and the Stooges, Rancid and Fall Out Boy.
The Replacements had announced a reunion of sorts last October with news founding members Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson had recorded an EP of covers in a hometown Minneapolis studio.
The limited edition “Songs For Slim” pressing would be auctioned online to benefit Replacements guitarist Slim Dunlap, who had suffered a stroke earlier in the year.
When news broke of the EP, singer Paul Westerberg didn’t rule-out a full-fledged Replacements reunion with a new album or tour.
Though mainstream success eluded them, the Replacements have a dedicated following and their reputation as alternative rock pioneers seems to grow as the years roll by. After various line-up changes and in-band-bickering, the Replacements played their last show on July 4, 1991 in Chicago.
Even the lure of a rumored seven-figure sum from Coachella hadn’t been enough to make a reunion happen.
“I’m aware that people miss seeing the band,” Westerberg told Billboard in a post-split interview from the vault. “The brand name, the band is what they miss, and people who never saw us, unfortunately, will never get to see what it was, what we were. Because even if we got together and played, it would never be whatever the heck we were supposed to be.”
With the Riot Fest shows, that’s all about to change.
The Replacements were created in Minneapolis back in 1979 by its founders Bob and Tommy Stinson, Westerberg and Chris Mars. Bob died in 1995 at the age of 35.
It’s unclear precisely what the 2013 line-up will look like. Mars has so-far resisted returning to the fold — though he’s presumed to take his place.
Read the 2008 Billboard Q&A with the Replacements here.