With a new album – Choice of Weapon – due out May 22, The Cult will make its 2012 concert debut at the South By Southwest Music Festival next month, headlining Austin’s Auditorium Shores Stage on Saturday, March 17.
The appearance will be free and open to the public, and it starts at 8 p.m.
“SXSW is thrilled that The Cult is returning to play our biggest stage at Auditorium Shores,” Festival Producer Darin Klein said in a statement. “We’re excited to hear their new tunes and their classic hits. The show is free and open to the public, so everyone in Austin should get fired up for a great night of music.”
Choice is The Cult’s first new studio album in five years. Written by founding members Ian Astbury (vocals) and Billy Duffy (guitar), the effort has been said to reveal the band in its rawest state.
“What we do with The Cult is try and let the songs become who they are. It’s like school children, you try and give them good guidance, but they’re going to end up doing what they want to do. In the end, you have to just relinquish power,” Duffy told Noisecreep. “You want to capture a feel and document the era when you wrote them. You don’t want to overdo it, or you end up with something like ‘Chinese Democracy.’ You know what I mean?”
Future tour dates will be announced on The Cult’s official website, but for now, fans can download the new track “Lucifer” here.