LA indie-rock duo Girlpool have announced their imminent disbandment, confirming that their upcoming North American tour – of which they’ve also cancelled roughly two thirds – will serve as their last run of shows altogether.
“After nine years, we have decided to take a break from Girlpool and go our separate ways as songwriters,” the band, consisting of Avery Tucker and Harmony Tividad (who both sang and played guitar and bass) wrote in a statement. “This upcoming tour will be our last one – it will be an ode to the past, a celebration for the future and something we will pour both of our hearts into completely.”
The pair went on to assure fans that there is no bad blood between them, declaring: “We are each other’s biggest fans and always encourage each other to stretch and evolve, whether that means it’s alongside one another or not.”
Girlpool were due to begin their North American tour in Sacramento, however that show (booked in for September 6) has now been cancelled, alongside 14 other shows on the run. The curtailed tour will now begin in Portland on September 8, with further shows still planned to go ahead in Seattle, Vancouver, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Washington (DC), San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Ticketholders for the now-cancelled shows – a full list of which can be found below – will be able to receive refunds from their original point of purchase.
The band were due to make their return to the UK in November, performing at this year’s edition of the Pitchfork Music Festival in London. This appearance, too, has been cancelled.
Girlpool released their fourth studio album, ‘Forgiveness’, back in April. It retroactively serves as somewhat of a capstone for the duo’s narrative, with both Tucker and Tividad using their respective songs to reckon with the inner turbulence they’d alluded to on previous releases.
In a statement shared around the album’s release, Tucker said: “A lot of my songs on this record are about relationship dynamics where I experienced frustration and pain, and struggling to hold a lot of complexity in my emotions. Writing ‘Forgiveness’ helped me fit all those pieces into an acceptance: that my fate pushes me exactly where I need to go.”
Tividad echoed his sentiment, adding: “A lot of life feels like unavoidable experiences to me. To me, ‘Forgiveness’ is about accepting that concept. It’s about forgiving reality for having to be exactly what it is all the time.”
In a February interview with Rolling Stone, Tucker – who came out as trans in 2017, shortly after Girlpool released their ‘Powerplant’ album – noted that the band’s complex history tended to be a source of irritation in regards to his personal journey.
He told journalist Jonathan Bernstein: “It can be so frustrating to look at the streaming [numbers] and see that [debut album] ‘Before The World Was Big’ is getting equal to or more than the new stuff.
“There’s a part of me that’s like, ‘Oh my God, I feel trapped in my past.’ But we have to trust that there’s some lesson in letting that be. I think being visible is part of the power in Girlpool. Because, for me, there’s shame, a little bit, in that music. It feels embarrassing and it feels really feminine.
“But there’s also such deep love and sweetness and tenderness, because it was so innocent, and our hearts were so open to one another, and so vulnerable, and we were so young. It’s actually so cool that we were so down to open the fuck up.”
Girlpool’s 2022 North American tour dates (including cancelled shows) are:
SEPTEMBER
Tuesday 6 – Sacramento, Goldfield Trading Post (CANCELLED)
Thursday 8 – Portland, Wonder Ballroom
Friday 9 – Seattle, The Crocodile
Saturday 10 – Vancouver, Fortune Sound Club
Tuesday 13 – Minneapolis, Fine Line Music Cafe (CANCELLED)
Wednesday 14 – Chicago, Thalia Hall (CANCELLED)
Friday 16 – Ferndale, The Loving Touch (CANCELLED)
Saturday 17 – Toronto, Legendary Horseshoe Tavern (CANCELLED)
Sunday 18 – Montreal, La Sala Rossa (CANCELLED)
Monday 19 – Boston, Paradise Rock Club (CANCELLED)
Thursday 22 – Brooklyn, Elsewhere
Friday 23 – Philadelphia, Underground Arts
Saturday 24 – Washington (DC), Black Cat
Monday 26 – Carrboro, Cat’s Cradle (CANCELLED)
Tuesday 27 – Atlanta, Terminal West (CANCELLED)
Thursday 29 – Houston, White Oak Music Hall (CANCELLED)
Friday 30 – Austin, Mohawk Austin (CANCELLED)
OCTOBER
Saturday 1 – Dallas, Sundown at Granada (CANCELLED)
Sunday 2 – Lawrence, Bottleneck (CANCELLED)
Tuesday 4 – Denver, Marquis Theater (CANCELLED)
Wednesday 5 – Salt Lake City, Kilby Court (CANCELLED)
Friday 7 – San Francisco, August Hall
Saturday 8 – Los Angeles, El Rey Theatre
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