Blur’s lead vocalist, Damon Albarn, hinted that their recent performance at Coachella 2024 might be the band’s last. The first indication came in December when Albarn announced that Blur would be going on a hiatus. During the second weekend of Coachella 2024, Albarn made a statement to the audience before the band performed their last song of the night, “This is probably our last gig.” Albarn provided further explanation for his decision in December when he stated, “It’s too much for me. I’m not saying I won’t do it again, it was a beautiful success, but I’m not dwelling on the past.”
Blur, consisting of Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James, and drummer Dave Rowntree, played at the annual music and arts festival’s main stage for two consecutive Saturday nights. The band’s final Coachella setlist for the second weekend included some of their top hits such as “Song 2” and “Girls & Boys” as well as the last song, “Tender.” The first weekend’s set included all these and more. During the set for “Girls & Boys,” Albarn expressed disappointment with the unenthusiastic crowd and told them, “You’re never seeing us again, so you might as well f*cking sing it. Know what I’m saying?”
Albarn further described the Coachella audience’s unique atmosphere during an interview with KROQ, “It’s hard to know sometimes because they’re quite sort of on their own planet really.” For both Coachella weekends, Blur was joined by the Torres Martinez Cahuilla Bird Singers, a group of tribal singers local to the festival’s Mojave Desert, California setting.
Blur’s 2023 reunion concert tour will be chronicled in a new documentary and a concert film to be released later this year. The tour included the making of their album “The Ballad of Darren” and two massive shows at Wembley Stadium. Albarn’s comments about the hiatus suggest that fans should not expect any Blur performances in the near future.
In 1991, Blur formed in London and became a prominent participant in the mid-90s Britpop movement. They achieved mainstream success with their fifth studio album, “Blur” and produced many well-known hits such as “Coffee & TV” and “Country House.” Albarn formed Gorillaz during Blur’s hiatus in 1998, a band that has found continued success and popularity
Read the full article on NME here: Read More