Gwen Stefani has been fronting No Doubt for nearly 40 years. But after going on what sounded like a permanent hiatus in 2013, last week’s announcement that the singer would be reuniting with longtime bandmates bassist Tony Kanal, guitarist Tom Dumont and drummer Adrian Young for this year’s Coachella festival in April has her psyched to step back into group mode.
“It just happened so fast, and that’s my favorite kind of thing to happen. We haven’t really figured out the next steps of how we’re going to do this, but we’re just all so excited,” Stefani, 54, told People magazine. “And I think really just watching the internet blow up [with] how excited that the fans are? It’s inspiring us.”
The multi-platinum group last reunited in 2012 for the release of their sixth album, Push and Shove, and played some shows in 2015 before going their separate ways to focus on solo projects. “It’s just going to be cool. It’s just going to be: get up there and do what we always do, which is play our music and try to connect and be so grateful that we got this amazing career that we never expected to have,” the singer said of her excitement of revving the crowd up with such iconic hits as “Just a Girl,” “Spiderwebs,” “Don’t Speak,” “Ex-Girlfriend” and “Hey Baby.”
The Voice coach told the magazine that she’s “completely overwhelmed” by the excitement over the reunion announcement and the wave of love from fans. “I definitely have that little thing in your stomach where you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh! What?’” the three-time Grammy winner said of the good vibe nerves. “It’s going to be amazing.”
So far, No Doubt has not indicated whether the Coachella gig is a one-off or the kick-off to a wider reunion tour. For now, Stefani is booked for a solo gig at a pre-Super Bowl TikTok Tailgate show in Las Vegas before the big game on Feb. 11, with other No Doubt dates announced at press time. “We’ll see you in the desert this April!!!,” read a statement on the band’s social accounts last week announcing the Coachella gig alongside a stacked roster featuring Lana Del Rey, Tyler, The Creator and Doja Cat as headliners, along with Peso Pluma, Lil Uzi Vert, Blur, Ice Spice, J Balvin, Jhené Aiko and more.