Sugar Reunites For 1st Concerts Since 1995

Sugar returned with their first new music and tour dates in over three decades. The trio shared the single, “House Of Dead Memories,” and booked four concerts in May 2026.

After co-founding influential hardcore band Hüsker Dü, guitarist/frontman Bob Mould got together with bassist David Barbe and drummer Malcolm Travis to form Sugar in 1991. The next year the band issued their debut album, Copper Blue, which will soon be reissued in an expanded edition. Additional albums followed over subsequent years before the band split up in 1995.

Mould shared the statement below regarding the band:

“Sugar was a meteorite. I spent all of 1991 writing and performing new material at solo shows. David and Malcolm had never met but I was certain we three would work well together.

“Sugar was a workhorse. After weeks of rehearsal in early 1992, we spent three months recording Copper Blue and Beaster. By summer 1992, the musical climate was perfect for what we created.

“Sugar was a phenomena. No one could have predicted the results. We held onto the wheel and did our best to enjoy the wild ride. Sugar was part of a pivotal era in popular music, and a special time in my life.”

The trio reconvened in June 2025 at Tiny Telephone Oakland to record “House Of Dead Memories.”

“Since we last played in 1995, I have worked on hundreds of records and engaged with music people all over the world,” said Barbe. “When the subject of Sugar comes up, it is like a misty legend that they either remember from a long time ago or have only heard about. I am excited for fans to experience it in the real.”

Sugar’s first live concerts since January 1995 will take place at New York City’s Webster Hall on May 2 and May 3, 2026. The band will also perform at London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town on May 23 and May 24. Tickets go on sale Friday, October 24.

“The return of Sugar is a moment that I’ve been dreaming about for a very long time,” Travis stated. “What we managed to accomplish in the short span of time we were in existence still boggles my mind. There was so much packed into that period….the travel, the shows, the recordings and getting to meet so many people who loved and supported us. To get back to working together again with Bob and David is such a gift and I’m looking forward to what the future has in store for us.”

Stream the new Sugar single, “House Of Dead Memories,” below: