Madonna News

Sigur Ros, Franz Ferdinand, Sleater-Kinney...Madonna? One of these things may not be like the others now, but come this spring, they'll all be one big, fest-playin' family.

The Confessions on a Dancefloor superstar has joined the indie-heavy lineup at the 2006 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival for the second night of the Indio, California event on Apr. 30.

"I've never performed at a festival," Madonna said. "And I'm especially excited about playing at Coachella before I start my own tour."

The addition was surprising for both Madge--a festival virgin despite 20-plus years in the biz--and the event's organizers, whose massive annual desert do has always been a showcase for cutting-edge and indie rock, a genre the recent Grammy performer does not easily fall into.

For their part, Goldenvoice, the promoters of Coachella, acknowledge that the Material Girl's booking was a risky choice for an event that has steered away from the mainstream music world since its 1999 inception, but an addition they don't foresee damaging their credibility with concertgoers.

"I love things you don't see all the time," Goldenvoice's Paul Tollette told MTV News. "And we're always trying to make it so it's something you don't see anywhere else."

Madonna will be headlining the event's Sahara Dance Tent, a sub-venue typically reserved for DJ sets, though the "Hung Up" singer says she'll hit the stage with a live, if scaled down, band.

The spring gig will be good practice for the 47-year-old mother of two, who last week announced plans for a summer tour.

Madonna's upcoming outing, in support of her latest dance-heavy album, will be a smaller and more intimate affair than her previous blowout extravaganzas, most notably her 2004 spectacle-laden re-Invention tour.

Dates have yet to be announced for the tour, though it's expected to kick off in Los Angeles in May and continue through September before heading over to Europe and Asia.

Rehearsals for Madonna and Co. began today.