Photo by James Sharples
British post-punk and gothic rock legends, The Mission, an ensemble of musicians featuring the talents of Wayne Hussey, Craig Adams, Simon Hinkler, and Alex Baum, are gearing up for a Spring 2024 tour that sees them embarking on a string of dates along the West Coast, culminating in a performance at Pasadena’s renowned Cruel World Festival on May 11th. Following this high-profile gig, the band extends their tour with three additional stops in Canada before crossing the Atlantic for their European leg.
“I’ve always liked the West Coast,” says vocalist/guitarist Wayne Hussey. “I even lived in SoCal for 4-5 years in the late ‘90s. I prefer to visit though than to live there.”
Excited to play Cruel World, Hussey is looking forward to sharing the bill with bands such as Duran Duran, Placebo, Ministry, Soft Cell, and Blondie.
“It’s a very eclectic bill… a lot of bands playing that I’d like to see,” he says. “It’s a shame we don’t generally get festival lineups like this in Europe. They tend to be more genre-specific. Hence, we usually just play goth/rock festivals which can be frustrating as I really don’t see us as exclusively fitting into any particular genre.”
The Mission are excited to embark on their West Coast journey, which will take them through colorful cities like Las Vegas, Portland, Sacramento, and San Francisco, among others. This follows their six-week tour across the country in 2023. The band is looking forward to playing on alternative festival stages and captivating audiences with their music as they travel through the diverse landscapes of the American West.
“There are some really beautiful drives up and down that coast, not that we’ll see ‘em traveling on a band bus,” he laughs. “Gotta say that the West Coast is generally among the best-looking audiences, so that’s reason enough, I’d say, for liking to tour there.”
(Coincidentally, Blood Brothers are playing at Los Angeles’ Viper Room on 27 April.)
Formed in 1985 by Wayne Hussey and bassist Craig Adams, The Mission has made an enduring mark on the British alt-rock and post-punk scene. Despite hiatuses and lineup shifts, the band has remained a consistent presence, releasing ten studio albums to date.
In 2011, the original core trio—Hussey, Adams, and guitarist Simon Hinkler—reunited, sparking a powerful resurgence that continues unabated. Their 2016 release, Another Fall From Grace, is often praised as a pivotal moment in their career, described by Hussey as a bridge between The Sisters of Mercy’s First and Last and Always and The Mission’s seminal debut, God’s Own Medicine. Central to this revival is Hussey’s rediscovery of the electric 12-string guitar, a key element that he had temporarily set aside during the band’s interim years.
With new drummer Alex Baum now installed behind the kit, 2024 finds the band in fine form, with shows in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Dubai already confirmed, with possibly more to follow.
“I will be attempting to put a bunch of new tunes together for a new Mission album. It’s about time, don’t you think? …We’d like to get it ready for release in 2026 to commemorate our 40th anniversary. How the hell have we survived? I shouldn’t say that really, should I? It’s tempting fate, isn’t it?”
The Mission’s North American tour begins on April 28th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Nuovo Testamento will be support for all US dates.
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