Following the critical success of their 2024 album Blu Wav, indie-rock stalwarts Grandaddy have announced a 2025 North American tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of their landmark album, The Sophtware Slump. The band will perform this influential record in its entirety, marking their first US tour in over two decades, with support acts Pedro the Lion and Greg Freeman. Tickets are set to go on sale this Friday, May 9th, at 10 am local time, with dates scheduled across major cities including NYC, DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle.
Released in 2000, The Sophtware Slump, imbued with Jason Lytle’s distinctive wit and sensibility, offered a surprisingly prescient commentary on the increasing dominance of technology and the concurrent decline of the natural world – themes highly relevant to the Y2K anxieties surrounding artificial intelligence, space exploration by the wealthy, and widespread technological integration. The album’s opening track, “He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s the Pilot,” poignantly ushered in the new century while bidding farewell to the old, painting vivid imagery of a world grappling with discarded technology and environmental decay.
The Sophtware Slump stands as a profound exploration of time, distance, the dichotomy of nature and technology, loss and recovery, and the tension between progress and nostalgia, all while acknowledging the fleeting nature of cherished things. Yet, the album’s enduring achievement lies in its ability to find a glimmer of hope amidst its melancholic beauty, offering a quiet resilience with the memorable line, “Don’t give in, 2000 man.”
Grandaddy has recently honoured their legacy with 20th-anniversary reissues of key albums, including The Sophtware Slump 20th anniversary reissue collection, praised as a timeless and enhanced classic, and the Sumday Twunny box set, recognised as a “Best New Reissue” by Pitchfork. The band also created a unique piano rendition of their seminal album. Formed in 1992, Grandaddy has released six studio LPs, with their latest, Blu Wav, receiving widespread acclaim. The original lineup featured Jason Lytle, Aaron Burtch, Jim Fairchild, Tim Dryden, and the late Kevin Garcia. This upcoming tour offers a rare opportunity for fans to experience The Sophtware Slump live after a long absence from US stages.
