Minus the Bear are reuniting to headline Best Friends Forever Festival, a three-day music pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada, the place they’ll carry out their 2005 album, Menos el Oso, in full. The Seattle math-rock band had broken up in 2018 after feeling sated from a 17-year run. With six full-length albums and various EPs, Minus the Bear cultivated a loyal fanbase who turned to them for his or her distinct type of finger-tapping guitar work and artistic use of pedals and electronics. The pageant has not but specified which of its three days—October 10, 11, and 12—the band will headline.
Moreover, Minus the Bear have additionally signed a brand new supervisor, Jordyn Reese of Do Higher for Artists, to assist steer their return. “Imaginative and prescient, enthusiasm and drive are crucial qualities you could find in a supervisor and Jordyn has been gifted all three in spades,” mentioned guitarist Dave Knudson. “Whereas working collectively on my first solo LP, I discovered her love of music and technique intoxicating. Having an extended historical past with Minus the Bear, she appeared like the proper option to carry concepts and power and to our reunion.”
In a 2018 interview with Stereogum, after saying their disbandment, Minus the Bear elaborated on their determination to name it quits on the time, citing an uptick in life occasions, spending time with their households, dealing with differing inventive attitudes, and indulging the opportunity of new paths. “We wish to hold the band’s legacy intact and exit whereas we’re nonetheless doing effectively,” singer-guitarist Jake Snider mentioned.
Rounding out the 2025 lineup at Finest Pals Endlessly are Jawbreaker, Rilo Kiley, Texas Is the Motive, Pedro the Lion, Superchunk, Wednesday, Tigers Jaw, Rival Colleges, and Fairly Ladies Make Graves, amongst different artists. Particular highlights embody Mineral’s farewell show, Cursive enjoying Domestica and The Ugly Organ, Bear vs. Shark enjoying Terrorhawk, and a newly reunited Snowing, the cult-favorite Midwest emo band from Philadelphia.
Finest Pals Endlessly Pageant takes place on the Downtown Las Vegas Occasions Heart throughout three days and options two levels. Tickets for the all-ages pageant are presently on sale. The inaugural edition of the pageant in 2024 was headlined by Sunny Day Actual Property, Cap’n Jazz, and—after Vibrant Eyes needed to drop out—the Blood Brothers.
