Not sure if a long-dormant group can reform and rule the road in the modern music industry? Ask the Jonas Brothers how their 2019 went. These already-announced reunions are aiming to recapture the magic with major boxscore numbers next year. Read more about The Pussycat Dolls, My Chemical Romance, Rage Against the Machine, Aventura and The Black Crowes below.
The Pussycat DollsWhat Their Deal Was: With mid-’00s pop hits like “Buttons,” “Don’t Cha” and “When I Grow Up,” The Pussycat Dolls offered a more rhythmic, stateside answer to British girl group forebears like the Spice Girls and Girls Aloud.
Years Off: 10
Future Plans: A trek dubbed the Unfinished Business Tour kicks off in the United Kingdom in April. The group also teased new music during a U.K. X Factor performance.
2020 Stakes: Despite an uneven solo career, de facto PCD leader Nicole Scherzinger has endured as a celebrity, most recently as a judge on The Masked Singer. If this outing captures the magic of last year’s Spice Girls reunion, her solo prospects could be renewed.
My Chemical RomanceWhat Their Deal Was: No history of ’00s emo can be written without MCR, as Gerard Way & Co.’s theatrical, post-hardcore approach resulted in genre classics like 2006’s The Black Parade before a 2013 disbanding.
Years Off: 7
Future Plans: After launching its reunion with a one-off Los Angeles show in December, the bandmembers announced a handful of overseas dates for early 2020.
2020 Stakes: Even at the height of its popularity, MCR was never a surefire arena headliner. But given the effusive response to its reunion and MCR’s palpable influence on modern alt-rock, the band could score its highest-grossing tour to date this year.
Rage Against the MachineWhat Their Deal Was: Before the advent of nu-metal, Rage mixed rap, rock and politically charged lyrics to become one of the defining bands of the 1990s. Its members have since soldiered on in groups like Audioslave and Prophets of Rage.
Years Off: 9
Future Plans: A trio of tuneup dates in March will lead into the group’s triumphant return to Coachella, where it is headlining for the first time since 2007.
2020 Stakes: Even if Rage’s latest reunion doesn’t lead to the group’s first full-length since 2000’s Renegades, the band — especially fiery frontman Zack de la Rocha — will likely be one of the most vocal acts speaking out in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election.
AventuraWhat Their Deal Was: The bachata quartet became one of the most commercially successful Latin groups of all time before announcing a hiatus in 2011; leading man Romeo Santos subsequently became a huge solo star.
Years Off: 4
Future Plans: A nine-date U.S. arena tour begins Feb. 6 in Los Angeles. It’s Aventura’s first series of shows since a 2016 outing.
2020 Stakes: Santos’ profile has grown as Latin pop has become more present in the U.S. mainstream; with 11 top 10 hits on the Hot Latin Songs chart, Aventura could dominate boxscores and expand its legacy as one of the genre’s most important acts of the 2000s.
The Black Crowes
What Their Deal Was: Beginning with their 1990 debut, Shake Your Money Maker, brothers Chris and Rich Robinson became best-selling Southern rock stalwarts. In addition to eight studio albums, they’ve also released a handful of live albums.
Years Off: 5
Future Plans: Following a pair of underplays in New York and Los Angeles in November, a world tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of Shake Your Money Maker kicks off in June.
2020 Stakes: The Robinson brothers have bitterly feuded for years prior to reforming their beloved band; if they can play “Hard to Handle” and “She Talks to Angels” for three months without incident, The Black Crowes could be in store for a lucrative decade on the road.
