Two punk-adjacent pioneers — Siouxsie and Iggy Pop — will headline this year’s edition of Goldenvoice’s Cruel World festival in Pasadena.
Cruel World taps into the many veins of goth-rock, new wave and post-punk that ruled airwaves and the underground in the ‘70s and ‘80s. The 2023 installment, scheduled for May 20 at Brookside at the Rose Bowl, will also feature a number of high-profile returns to U.S. stages after many years away.
Siouxsie, the singer for canonical U.K. act Siouxsie and the Banshees, hasn’t performed in North America in 15 years, nor released solo material since 2007’s “Mantaray.”
Also scheduled to appear at Cruel World is Bauhaus offshoot Love and Rockets, which hasn’t performed live since 2008.
While Iggy Pop has, gratefully, never left the road for long throughout a career spanning six decades, he’s become one of rock’s quintessential lions in winter. Pop released a new punk-leaning album, “Every Loser,” earlier this month.
British new-wave pioneers Billy Idol, Adam Ant, Echo & the Bunnymen, the Human League, ABC, Gang of Four and Gary Numan, plus L.A.’s the Motels, round out the lineup alongside contemporary inheritors like the noirish synth duo Boy Harsher, the Soft Moon and GVLLOW.
Last year’s festival featured sets from Morrissey, Public Image Ltd. and Blondie.
Tickets for Cruel World go on sale Friday, Jan. 27, at noon P.T.
