The great Led down?

The NME was quite excited yesterday to have the exclusive first news of headliners for Bonnaroo festival. Pearl Jam and Metallica, they insisted:

The much-rumoured performance by Led Zeppelin is not set to take place. However, frontman Robert Plant is slated to perform with Alison Krauss, as is Lez Zeppelin, the all-female Led Zeppelin tribute band.

That's pretty definitive.

Unfortunately, it seems the organisers sort-of-forgot to mention something to the NME, as the Associated Press have announced:

The reunited Led Zeppelin will headline the 2008 Bonnaroo Arts and Music Festival, concert organizers announced Wednesday.

Led Zeppelin, who reconvened for a single December concert in London, had for months been rumored to be heading to Bonnaroo, which will be held Jun 13-15 on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tenn.

Which makes sense - what sort of party is headlined by Pearl Jam?

But should the Zep do it? It does have the effect of sucking the specialness of that supposed one-off "for Ahmet" reunion straight and - with the inevitable tour to follow - leaves them looking just as careless of their legacy as the Sex Pistols. Who, by the way, are booked to headline the Serbian Exit festival this summer. If they can find someone to cover at the estate agents.

[UPDATE: Or has the NME had it right all along? There's some suggestion that the web reports of a Led Zep headline are based on someone in an agency misreading the billing for Lez Zeppelin... certainly, the official site doesn't have any mention of the Zep on the front page.

Indeed, it turns out that when asked at the launch, the organisers denied it:

Ashley Capps, president of Bonnaroo co-organizer A.C. Entertainment denied that the band would make a surprise appearance.

"Believe me, if Zeppelin was going to be there we would be shouting it from the rooftops," he said, adding that no one would be more surprised than him and his team if the band did perform.

]