Description

A darker yet delicately rendered work from Kristin Hersh, Sugar On Blackstone explores life and death, enrichment and poverty, and the small but defining moments of childhood that continue to echo through adult life. Deeply personal and emotionally expansive, the album reflects on the lasting bonds between musicians, family and friends, and the way certain sounds, places and memories can suddenly bring someone vividly back into focus.

Recorded at Stable Sound Studios earlier this year, Hersh is joined by longtime collaborators Rob Ahlers (50FOOTWAVE) on drums and cellist Pete Harvey (Throwing Muses). The result is a stark yet warm collection of songs that balances fragility with force, intimacy with tension.

Rooted in Providence, Rhode Island, Sugar On Blackstone draws heavily from Hersh’s reflections on home, displacement and memory. Revisiting the streets and parks of her childhood, the record traces the emotional weight of returning to familiar places shaped by grief, survival and resilience. The album’s title references Blackstone Boulevard and Hope Street in Providence, locations that become symbolic throughout the record of both loss and endurance.

Written in the aftermath of personal tragedy and against the backdrop of constant travel, wildfires and restless movement across America, the album carries an unsettled atmosphere throughout. Yet within that darkness, Hersh finds moments of tenderness and connection.

A poignant and expansive record that radiates strength in vulnerability, Sugar On Blackstone stands as another essential entry in Kristin Hersh’s acclaimed and ever-evolving body of work.

“Hersh at the top of her considerable game” Uncut

“A national treasure” NPR

“A fearless rock innovator” New York Times

“One of indie rock’s most fascinating figures” The Guardian

“A very, very special musician” The Quietus

Tour Dates:

26 Sep: All Saints Church, Birmingham, UK
27 Sep: Esquires, Bedford, UK
28 Sep: Internationale, Leicester, UK
29 Sep: Holywell Music Room, Oxford, UK
30 Sep: The Portland Arms, Cambridge, UK
01 Oct: St Michael’s, Manchester, UK
02 Oct: St Michael’s, Manchester, UK
03 Oct: Philharmonic Music Room, Liverpool, UK
04 Oct: Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh, UK
05 Oct: The Cluny, Newcastle, UK
06 Oct: The Cluny, Newcastle, UK
07 Oct: Black Box, Belfast, UK
08 Oct: Spirit Store, Dundalk, Ireland
09 Oct: Hawk’s Well Theatre, Sligo, Ireland
10 Oct: Cleeres, Kilkenny, Ireland
11 Oct: Skelper Quane’s, Kerry, Ireland
12 Oct: Róisín Dubh, Galway, Ireland
13 Oct: Cyprus Avenue, Cork, Ireland
14 Oct: Cottiers Theatre, Glasgow, UK
15 Oct: Trades Club, Hebden Bridge, UK
16 Oct: Foxlowe Arts Centre, Leek, UK
17 Oct: National Centre for Early Music, York, UK
18 Oct: Folk House, Bristol, UK
20 Oct: Phoenix, Exeter, UK
21 Oct: Acapela Studios, Cardiff, UK
22 Oct: The Old Market, Brighton, UK
23 Oct: The Lexington, London, UK
24 Oct: The Lexington, London, UK
25 Oct: The Lexington, London, UK
26 Oct: De Spil, Roeselare, Belgium
27 Oct: CC Maasmechelen, Maasmechelen, Belgium
28 Oct: Tivoli Vredenburg (Cloud Nine), Utrecht, Netherlands
29 Oct: Le Chinois, Paris, France
30 Oct: PHIL, Haarlem, Netherlands
31 Oct: St George’s Church, Ramsgate, UK
01 Nov: Pavilion Theatre, Dublin, Ireland

Tracklisting: