Built to Spill Are Hitting the Road for a Massive 2026 US Tour

Built to Spill are doing what they do best. The Boise indie rock institution just announced a massive 2026 US tour stretching from May all the way through September, and the routing is stacked. We're talking 30+ dates coast to coast, festival appearances, and some seriously exciting co-headlining shows along the way.

The run kicks off May 2nd at Higher Ground in Burlington, Vermont, and wraps up September 1st at Urban Lounge in Salt Lake City. In between, Doug Martsch and company will be hitting Atlanta, St. Louis, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Washington DC, and a whole lot more. If you've been waiting for them to swing through your city, there's a very good chance they are.

Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, March 6th at 10:00 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster.

The Support Acts and Special Shows

The opener rotation on this tour is genuinely great. Lily Seabird, The Hypos, Wussy, Guerilla Toss, and PLAYDEAD will all be joining on select dates. That's a well-curated bill no matter which combination you catch.

But honestly, the special shows might be the real highlights here. On June 6th, Built to Spill will open for Bright Eyes at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens. That pairing alone is worth clearing your calendar for. Then on June 13th, they're at The Salt Shed in Chicago with The Hold Steady. And on August 29th, they'll be at the Hollywood Palladium in LA with Courtney Barnett. Three very different bills, all incredible.

Festival Stops

The tour also includes a handful of festival appearances. They already played Treefort Music Fest in Boise back on March 25th (their hometown fest, naturally), and they've got Zootown Music Festival in Missoula, Montana on June 19th and Pickathon in Happy Valley, Oregon on July 30th still ahead. If you're doing the summer festival circuit, keep an eye out.

Why This Tour Matters

I'll be real, Built to Spill has been one of the most important indie rock bands going since they formed in Boise back in 1992. Doug Martsch is the only constant member, but the revolving lineup has never diluted the quality. Three of their albums landed in Pitchfork's Top 100 Albums of the 1990s list. There's Nothing Wrong with Love, Perfect from Now On, and Keep It Like a Secret. That's a legacy most bands would kill for.

Their most recent album, When the Wind Forgets Your Name, came out in September 2022 on Sub Pop. It was their first record in seven years, following 2015's Untethered Moon, and marked a fresh start after Martsch's long run with Warner Brothers ended in 2016. The album was recorded with collaborators Lê Almeida and João Casaes from the Brazilian psychedelic band Oruã, and it brought a loose, exploratory energy that felt right for where Martsch's head was at.

The current touring lineup features Teresa Esguerra from Prism Bitch on drums and Melanie Radford from Blood Lemon on bass. If you haven't seen this version of the band yet, this tour is your shot.

All the Dates

06/06 – Forest Hills, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium (w/ Bright Eyes)

06/13 – Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed (w/ The Hold Steady)

08/29 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium (w/ Courtney Barnett)

08/30 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriets

09/01 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge

Don't Sleep on This

Three nights at The Chapel in San Francisco. Pappy & Harriets in the desert. First Avenue in Minneapolis. The 9:30 Club. These are some of the best rooms in the country, and Built to Spill is the kind of band that thrives in them. Martsch's guitar work live is something else entirely. Extended jams, walls of fuzz, moments where everything locks in and the room just floats. If you know, you know.

Tickets go on sale March 6th. Don't sit on this one. Grab yours through Ticketmaster before the smaller venues sell out.

Cover photo courtesy of Ticketmaster