Kanye West, Strokes to play New York’s Governors Ball

NEW YORK, USA – Rap superstar Kanye West has scheduled his first 2016 appearance by headlining New York’s June 3-5 Governors Ball festival, which will also feature influential homegrown rockers The Strokes.

West in recent weeks has put out several tracks which have raised speculation of a new album, although he has not confirmed any concrete plans. (READ: Kanye West coming to Manila in 2016)

The husband of reality television star Kim Kardashian, West has likened himself to Michelangelo and pursued other pursuits including fashion and has declared, with an unclear degree of seriousness, that he will run for president in 2020. (WATCH: Kanye West’s awesome ‘American Idol’ audition)

West headlined the Glastonbury festival in England last year but has kept a comparatively quiet performance schedule in recent months.

The Strokes helped define the New York music scene, as well as the larger world of indie rock, in the 2000s with their spirited revival of the punk sound.

The band has played only sparingly in recent years, with lead singer Julian Casablancas pursuing a side project, although The Strokes performed at Governors Ball in 2014.

Other acts to play Governors Ball this year include the alternative rock icon Beck, who won last year’s Grammy for Album of the Year, as well as Swedish electro-pop star Robyn and popular rockers The Killers and Death Cab for Cutie.

Governors Ball was inaugurated in 2011 on Governors Island off southern Manhattan before moving to larger Randalls Island.

Festivals have since boomed around the world and especially in North America, becoming a critical source of revenue in the music industry.

Governors Ball has voiced concern amid moves by major promoter AEG, which runs Coachella in California, to create another festival in New York in 2016.

In the lineup release, Governors Ball said it was “born and bred” in New York and last year generated $49 million for the city’s economy. – Rappler.com