The Jesus Lizard Announce First Tour in Eight Years

After an eight-year hiatus, the Jesus Lizard will reunite for a short run of U.S. dates this December. It will be their first shows since 2009.

The six-date trek kicks off on December 8th and will hit major cities on the East and West Coasts, beginning with a headlining set in Nashville before wrapping with their previously announced appearance at Houston’s Day for Night Festival the weekend of December 16th. Tickets for all gigs except Day for Night go on sale Friday.

The noise-rock crew originally came together in 1987 before calling it quits in 1999. During that time, they built a steady following thanks in part to a split single with Nirvana, which made it on to the U.K. singles chart, and a slot on Lollapalooza ’95, which coincided with the band’s signing to Capitol Records. They re-formed in 2008 for touring pegged to remastered reissues of the group’s catalogue on indie-label Touch and Go, but didn’t pursue any dates beyond 2009.

In 2012, guitarist Duane Denison told Rolling Stone that the Jesus Lizard once again were defunct. They’d attempted to make a reunion record but “certain members” didn’t commit themselves fully to it. “I thought, ‘All right, I’m not gonna twist anyone’s arm to make this happen,'” he said. “I was the one that pushed it to get it going in the first place. So I said, ‘Fine, I’ll take my ideas with me,’ and that turned into other things, and that’s just how it works.” At the time, Denison said he hoped that the band would play together again, as well as including a few new songs in the set, but those shows never materialized.

Since the 2009 split, Denison released a new album with the supergroup Tomahawk, Oddfellows, and frontman David Yow put out a solo LP, Thought You Look Like a Spider, both in 2013. They’d announced that year a festival gig in Melbourne, but canceled the set.

The Jesus Lizard Tour Dates

December 8 – Nashville, TN @ Cannery Ballroom
December 9 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
December 10 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
December 14 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre
December 15 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
December 16-17- Houston, TX @Day For Night Festival