Two pillars of New Wave’s golden age are joining forces for the first time in nearly five decades. DEVO and The B-52s have announced the “Cosmic De-Evolution Tour,” an 11-date farewell run that feels both inevitable and impossibly overdue. After parallel careers spanning their 45-year career arc, these theatrical pioneers are finally sharing stages across North America this fall.
When SNL Sparked a Cosmic Collision
Their SNL 50th anniversary performance convinced both bands this collaboration was meant to happen.
The tour originated from their joint appearance at Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary celebration, where Fred Armisen served as guest drummer for both acts. That performance sparked something neither band anticipated—a realization that their complementary chaos had never been properly unleashed together. “We’ve played the same festivals but never actually toured together,” The B-52s’ Cindy Wilson noted, describing the collaboration as long overdue despite their shared DNA in alternative music’s family tree.
Original Members, Final Bow
Both bands perform with three founding members each during their respective farewell phases.
The authenticity factor runs deep here. Each band brings three original members to stages from Toronto’s Budweiser Stage (September 24) through Houston’s Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (November 2). DEVO’s Mark Mothersbaugh expressed genuine enthusiasm about the pairing, specifically citing “Rock Lobster” as a personal favorite and calling the timing “serendipitous.” Fred Schneider initially hesitated after The B-52s’ previous retirement from touring but couldn’t resist this unique opportunity.
Jeff Friedl joins as DEVO’s touring drummer, while Lene Lovich opens select dates, adding another layer of New Wave authenticity to these amphitheater shows.
New Wave’s Cultural Victory Lap
The tour represents a celebration of alternative music’s most theatrically ambitious era.
This isn’t just nostalgia—it’s a master class in how weird can win. Both bands weaponized absurdity against Reagan-era conformity, creating party anthems that doubled as social satire. DEVO’s “de-evolution” philosophy and The B-52s’ campy Americana established templates that echo through decades of alternative music. The tour promises full visual spectacle: energy dome hats, wig hats, costumes, and projections that turn amphitheaters into time machines.
Your chance to witness New Wave’s founding weirdos together won’t come again. Both acts have emphasized this tour’s farewell nature, making these performances cultural artifacts in real-time. When two bands spend five decades shaping alternative music’s DNA, their first joint tour becomes more than entertainment—it’s a closing ceremony for the genre’s most fearlessly experimental chapter.
