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After years of rumors, seminal indie-rock band Pavement have finally confirmed they are to reunite. New York blog Brooklyn Vegan was first to declare these rumors were the real deal, and on Thursday guitarist Scott Kannberg (a.k.a. Spiral Stairs) confirmed the reunion in an interview with Rolling Stone. The first confirmed date is a Central Park, New York show on September 21 next year. Referring to frontman Stephen Malkmus, Kannberg said "Steve and I just had a conversation on the phone, and we’d never talked about it before at all. We’ve talked over the years, but the subject never came up. Then our agent asked us about these New York shows, so we went around to everybody in the band, and they said, ‘Yeah, the time is right If everybody’s ready to do it, then we’ll do it and see what happens.’ There was no real impetus — it just kind of happened naturally.” Pavement split up ten years ago after releasing five hugely influential albums. While never big sellers, their reputation has only grown in the years after they broke up, so their reunion shows are sure to be attended by big crowds. "There’s festivals and stuff that we’re talking to, like Coachella," Kannberg added. "After that, anything that happens in the future is in the future."

Indie-rock gods Pavement could be set to reform according to founding member and guitarist Scott Kannberg, aka "Spiral Stairs." When asked about the possibility in an interview with London-based freesheet Loud & Quiet, Kannberg confirmed that all the band members were on good terms, and said "I don't see why not, you know, it could be a fun thing to do, go and play your favourite songs every night! 2009 would be our twenty-year anniversary too, so that'd be a good time to do it, but I think that's too soon, it might have to be pushed back later." If one thing can bring their get-together forward, it could be a certain Californian festival with a history of throwing cash at bands for reunion shows. "Coachella keep asking our booking agent," Kannberg continued "but our booking agent's pretty strong, you know, he's waiting for the right number I think." Any reformation would be exciting news to indie fans, to whom Pavement are a totemic band. Led by Stephen Malkmus, Pavement's five albums between 1992 and 1999 consistently played with rock conventions, using lo-fi recording techniques and off-the-wall song structures to great critical acclaim. If they do play Coachella, they may well be joined on the bill by another reformed 90s indie band, Blur, who are heavily rumored to be a headliner.

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