The Reading and Leeds music festivals may have ended just more than a month ago, but organizers have gotten a jump on scheduling this year's festivities. Chief organizer Melvin Benn told NME that his group has already booked two of next year's acts, and are well on their way to getting the third.
So who are they? Benn isn't telling, but he dropped some rather ambiguous-yet-tantalizing hints.
"We have headliners in mind and booked actually. Two of the three are done, the last one we are giving due consideration to," he said, before adding "They are bands actually. They are American and English."
One American band and one English band? Benn didn't make anything official, but he suggested that the bands might even be a mix of American and English members. Music Times put its heads together and came up with a brief list of potential bands:
1. Yuck: As enjoyable as this noise rock-shoegaze outfit is, we find it hard to believe that Reading and Leeds would be willing to settle on an act with only two albums that hasn't exactly gone platinum. We promised Jon "Union Jack" Niles that we'd include them in the list.
2. Derek and The Dominoes: Unfortunately the American guitar whiz behind this supergroup (Duane Allman) has been deceased for quite a while. So even if Eric Clapton played Layla and the rest of the group's discography, it would amount to an Eric Clapton concert.
3. Dem Crooked Vultures: A supergroup consisting of Queens of The Stone Ages' Josh Homme on guitar, Dave Grohl on drums, and Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones on bass, this band is about as upfront a hybrid as you could imagine. Not touring at the moment, but could easily release a new album in the next year.
4. Black Sabbath: "What?!?" you cry. "There are no Americans in Sabbath!" Ah, but original drummer Bill Ward is no longer with the band...replaced instead by American Tommy Clufetos. Consider this a likely option.
