Kristin Hersh – Dark Eyed Junco
Kristin Hersh has announced Sugar on Blackstone, her 12th solo album, out September 18 via Fire Records. “Dark Eyed Junco” is the lead single, following “Sundial” which came out in March. The album was produced by Hersh herself at Stable Sound Studios, with Rob Ahlers of 50FOOTWAVE on drums and cellist Pete Harvey, who also played on the last Throwing Muses record, Moonlight Concessions.
The title comes from the North American sparrow, which Hersh borrowed as a nickname for her brother. The two of them would play basketball after dark, past the point of being able to see the hoop, to avoid going inside. “After our stepfather moved in, it wasn’t a home anymore.” That context is all over the track: quiet, specific, not trying to make more of the detail than it already carries. The song itself is stark and slow, Hersh’s voice sitting in the mix with the kind of economy she’s been refining for thirty-odd years.
Sugar on Blackstone takes its title from Blackstone Boulevard in Providence, Rhode Island, where Hersh grew up and has since returned to live. Eleven tracks, rooted in memory, displacement, and the weight of returning to places shaped by grief. The record also features “Sundial” and was written, per the press notes, against a backdrop of personal loss, wildfires, and constant movement. Whether or not that framing is accurate to the music, “Dark Eyed Junco” suggests a record that knows exactly what it wants to say and says it without fuss. I’m in.
UK / Ireland
- 09/26/26 / Birmingham, UK / All Saints Church
- 09/27/26 / Bedford, UK / Esquires
- 09/28/26 / Leicester, UK / Internationale
- 09/29/26 / Oxford, UK / Holywell Music Room
- 09/30/26 / Cambridge, UK / The Portland Arms
- 10/01/26 / Manchester, UK / St Michael’s
- 10/02/26 / Manchester, UK / St Michael’s
- 10/03/26 / Liverpool, UK / Philharmonic Music Room
- 10/04/26 / Edinburgh, UK / Pleasance Theatre
- 10/05/26 / Newcastle, UK / The Cluny
- 10/06/26 / Newcastle, UK / The Cluny
- 10/07/26 / Belfast, UK / Black Box
- 10/08/26 / Dundalk, Ireland / Spirit Store
- 10/09/26 / Sligo, Ireland / Hawk’s Well Theatre
- 10/10/26 / Kilkenny, Ireland / Cleeres
- 10/11/26 / Kerry, Ireland / Skelper Quane’s
- 10/12/26 / Galway, Ireland / Róisín Dubh
- 10/13/26 / Cork, Ireland / Cyprus Avenue
- 10/14/26 / Glasgow, UK / Cottiers Theatre
- 10/15/26 / Hebden Bridge, UK / Trades Club
- 10/16/26 / Leek, UK / Foxlowe Arts Centre
- 10/17/26 / York, UK / National Centre for Early Music
- 10/18/26 / Bristol, UK / Folk House
- 10/20/26 / Exeter, UK / Phoenix
- 10/21/26 / Cardiff, UK / Acapela Studios
- 10/22/26 / Brighton, UK / The Old Market
- 10/23/26 / London, UK / The Lexington
- 10/24/26 / London, UK / The Lexington
- 10/25/26 / London, UK / The Lexington
- 10/31/26 / Ramsgate, UK / St George’s Church
- 11/01/26 / Dublin, Ireland / Pavilion Theatre
Europe
- 10/26/26 / Roeselare, Belgium / De Spil
- 10/27/26 / Maasmechelen, Belgium / CC Maasmechelen
- 10/28/26 / Utrecht, Netherlands / Tivoli Vredenburg
- 10/29/26 / Paris, France / Le Chinois
- 10/30/26 / Haarlem, Netherlands / PHIL
