Here’s a holiday gift you, your dad, and Panda Bear can get excited about: Brian Wilson is reuniting with the Beach Boys — who, let’s face it, were never really the Beach Boys without him. The band, which will now consist of Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, David Marks, and Bruce Johnston, plans to embark upon a 50-date tour, beginning with April’s New Orleans Jazz Fest. The news comes about six weeks after the release of The Smile Sessions, roughly 45 years after the legendary lost Beach Boys album was recorded.
The news also solves a mystery: A major band was supposed to reunite at November 30th’s Grammy Awards nomination concert, but the announcement never happened. At the time, many speculated that the group would be Van Halen; as it turns out, it was the Beach Boys, as Rolling Stone‘s Andy Greene predicted. They’ll make up for their no-show with what Jardine calls “a surprise at the Grammys” on February 12th. All we’re saying is, it better be a performance. Preferably of “Hang on to Your Ego.” But, you know, whatever you guys feel like playing. [via Rolling Stone ]