New Order, Nick Cave to Headline 2025 Cruel World Festival

Cruel World festival will return in 2025 with headliners New Order and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds.

Southern California promoter Goldenvoice (the folks behind Coachella) will head back to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on Saturday, May 17, with additional performances from legendary acts Devo, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Death Cult, Garbage, Madness, She Wants Revenge, Alison Moyet and more.

The 2025 festival will mark the final stop of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ North American the Wild God Tour in support of their highly acclaimed 18th studio album of the same name.

Standout reunions for the festival will include Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honorees The Go-Go’s and the trailblazing new wave band ‘Til Tuesday, performing for the first time in 35 years with its original members.

Fans can also look forward to the return of Death Cult (later The Cult in 1984) as frontman Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy plan to revive the band’s original discography for their only confirmed California performance of the year. Additionally, Valley legends She Wants Revenge declared they will only play at Cruel World in 2025.

Previous editions of the new wave/post-punk festival that launched in 2022 have featured performances from Morrissey, Blondie, Bauhaus, Echo & the Bunnymen, Billy Idol, Siouxsie and Iggy Pop.

Presale for the 2025 festival begins Friday at 11 a.m. PT. General admission tickets start at $249 with payment plan options available. Dark and devoted fans who were the original purchasers of passes for past Cruel Worlds can register and unlock access to a past purchaser presale that begins on Thursday at 11 a.m. PT. All other fans can register now for access on Friday to GA four-packs, GA+, VIP passes and more.

Taylor Mims

Billboard