Kristin Hersh (Throwing Muses) Announces 'Sugar On Blackstone' New Zealand 2026 Tour

An artist hugely beloved by Aotearoa audiences, Kristin Hersh of Throwing Muses is welcome to tour our shores whenever she pleases. Bookending last year with Moonlight Concessions dates (first solo and then with her aforementioned band), the US alt-rock royal will be back down under just in time to kick off summer, touring her forthcoming new album Sugar on Blackstone nationwide — rolling into Ōtepoti, Ōtautahi, Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Whanganui-a-Tara in late November / early December.

A major figure of the late 20th century alt-rock explosion, Hersh's perennial songbook includes multiple classics with Throwing Muses (initially via 4AD Records) and as a solo artist, achieving breakout fame with her 1994 debut solo album Hips and Makers (featuring international hit 'Your Ghost' with Michael Stipe). Out on 18th September via Fire Records, Hersh's forthcoming solo studio long player Sugar on Blackstone ponders "the lasting bonds between musicians, family and friends, and the way certain sounds and places can suddenly bring someone vividly back into focus" — featuring contributions from longterm creative compatriots Rob Ahlers (50FOOTWAVE) Pete Harvey (Throwing Muses).

Revisit Mitch Marks' recent interview the artist HERE, listen to her new single '101 Run' below, and catch Kristin Hersh playing intimate headline sets, spanning songs new and old at the following dates — brought to you by On The Door Dunedin (Te Waipounamu) and Plus1 (Te Ika-a-Māui)...

Kristin Hersh
Sugar on Blackstone New Zealand 2026 Tour

Saturday 28th November – Ravensbourne Hall, Dunedin
Sunday 29th November – A Rolling Stone, Christchurch
Friday 4th December – Kāhui St David’s, Auckland
Saturday 5th December - Meow, Wellington

Dunedin and Christchurch tickets on sale HERE via UTR
Auckland and Wellington tickets on sale via plus1.co.nz

Experience 'Dark Eyed Junco' from Kristin Hersh's upcoming new album Sugar On Blackstone...

Here's the video for 'Ms Haha', from Kristin Hersh's 2023 album Clear Pond Road...

Press release:

Celebrated songwriter Kristin Hersh will return to New Zealand this November / December for a run of four main centre intimate headline shows in support of her forthcoming new album Sugar On Blackstone, out 18 September via Fire Records.

Renowned for her fiercely emotional performances and uncompromising songwriting, Hersh’s New Zealand dates will see her bring songs from Sugar On Blackstone to audiences across the country alongside highlights from her extensive catalogue.

Following on from 2023’s Clear Pond Road, Sugar On Blackstone is a darker yet delicately rendered collection exploring life and death, memory, survival and human connection. Deeply personal and emotionally expansive, the album reflects on the lasting bonds between musicians, family and friends, and the way certain sounds and places can suddenly bring someone vividly back into focus.

Long celebrated as one of alternative music’s most singular voices, Hersh continues to deliver performances that are both intensely intimate and disarmingly powerful - a rare opportunity to experience one of modern music’s most influential songwriters up close.