Queens of the Stone Age welcomed back former member Nick Oliveri for his first performance with the band in 12 years on Friday, April 24th, at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center in Joshua Tree, California.
Oliveri was welcomed to the stage by frontman Josh Homme as “one of the people that I love dearly” to perform the Rated R song “Auto Pilot” during the stop on Queens of the Stone Age’s “Catacombs Tour.” The singer-bassist contributed vocals only for this performance, singing along with Homme and current QOTSA bassist Michael Shuman, at one point stepping down into the photo pit to interact with fans.
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Homme and Oliveri were both members of early ’90s stoner-rock group Kyuss. After their breakup, Homme formed QOTSA, and welcomed Oliveri to the lineup in 1998. After appearing on two of the band’s biggest albums, 2000’s Rated R and 2002’s Songs for the Deaf, Oliveri was ousted from the band in 2004 amid domestic abuse allegations.
Since then, Oliveri contributed backing vocals on the song “If I Had a Tail” on 2013’s …Like Clockwork, and performed one song with QOTSA at a 2014 show in Portland, Oregon.
In an interview a year ago, Homme didn’t rule out a Kyuss reunion, saying, “It always left me with a strange feeling, because it’s, like, you wanna set things right… I don’t have negative feelings about anybody. None of that stuff matters. So, yeah, it’s possible.”
QOTSA’s current “Catacombs Tour” wraps up May 1st in Lincoln, California. After that, Homme and company will embark on a UK/European tour beginning in late June before joining Foo Fighters on a North American stadium tour starting in early August (pick up tickets here).
Watch Queens of the Stone Age performing “Auto Pilot” with Nick Oliveri at both the Joshua Treee concert and a soundcheck earlier in the day below.
El bajista de Kyuss y ex QOTSA, Nick Oliveri se presentó hace unas horas con QUEENS ON THE STONE AGE en el Joshua Tree Recret Center para interpretar "Auto Pilot".
Es la primera vez en 12 años que se juntan los dos miembros fundadores de la banda. (24 de abril)#soundcheck pic.twitter.com/HM7NQUhdwK
— µzq (@AcostaMzk) April 25, 2026
