Though we hate to spoil the surprise, Silverchair, intentionally dormant since wrapping up its "Neon Ballroom" tour late last year, is about to announce that its members will be regrouping for a one-off appearance at the giant Rock In Rio festival in South America in January.

The group's official Web site posted a news flash promising an "important announcement" on Friday, August 25. However, a note on the members-only section of the band's fan-club site has spilled the beans that Silverchair will join the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the close of the giant festival in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, on January 21, 2001.

Acts previously confirmed for the festival, now dubbed "Rock In Rio For A Better World," include Britney Spears and 'NSYNC (see [article id="1432493"]"'NSYNC, Britney To Rock Rio"[/article]). The music festival is scheduled to kick off on January 12, 2001.

The note quotes Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns as saying that Rio will

be a one-off performance, as the band will not tour without a new album, and no definite plans exist to record one at this time.

"We just thought it would be fun to be part of Rock In Rio," says Johns via the note, "plus we haven't played in South America in ages, so we're probably overdue to play a show there."

The post also indicates that the concert audience, expected to be upwards of 250,000 people, will be the largest in Silverchair's history.

The initial announcement on the band's Web site led to mass speculation over what the Silverchair news would be, ranging from the band breaking up to Johns tying the knot. The most prominent hypothesis was that the group would be announcing its participation in the closing ceremonies for the Olympic Games in Sydney this fall, and it was also thought that the group might be announcing a return to the studio to record its fourth album.

Silverchair announced last December that the band was taking a hiatus

(see [article id="1434061"]"Silverchair Plays Last Gig Before Its 2000 Time-Out"[/article]) and would not be playing live in the year 2000. Bassist Chris Joannou also told fans that the bandmembers did not have a timetable for a new album and would only start writing new material when they felt the creative urge to do so.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers, meanwhile, have announced that the group will be performing at Rock In Rio as well as playing an as-yet-unspecified date in Buenos Aires. According to the group's official Web site, there are no plans to add any more tour dates, overseas or otherwise, after the South American road trip.