Pixies

Forty years of loud music: The PIXIES celebrate their anniversary with a world tour

Four decades is a long time, and yet the PIXIES, that rebellious band from Boston, seem to have repeatedly defied the gravity of history. Their own story began in 1986 with an inconspicuous newspaper ad: Charles Thompson, better known as Black Francis, and guitarist Joey Santiago were looking for a bassist who appreciated Hüsker Dü as much as Peter, Paul and Mary. Kim Deal responded—without a bass, without experience, but with an attitude that would shape the sound of the coming years. Together with drummer David Lovering, they formed a band whose name was randomly picked from the dictionary: PIXIES. Only a few months passed between the first rehearsals in Lovering’s garage and the first release, “Come On Pilgrim.” Soon, the PIXIES sound like nothing that has come before: surreal, loud, aggressive, yet at the same time full of strangely beautiful melodies. “Surfer Rosa” and especially “Doolittle” make them pioneers of a new rock aesthetic in the late 1980s, whose influence remains unmistakable. Kurt Cobain, for example, later admitted that he had simply tried to copy the PIXIES on “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” But what makes the band so extraordinary—the fragile balance between Francis’s eruptive songwriting, Santiago’s edgy riffs, and Deal’s unmistakable vocal lines—also threatens to tear them apart. In 1993, it was over; the PIXIES called it quits. For many fans, it was a shock; for the musicians, it was a necessary break. When they reunited in 2004, the astonishment was great: the band played bigger than ever before, garnering enthusiasm from old and new generations alike and kicking off a second creative phase. Since then, new albums have been released and tours have followed in quick succession.

Above all, the band remains an event when performing live. From their early, chaotic club shows, where they broke rock conventions, to today’s festivals, the PIXIES have redefined the live experience. No anecdotes, no small talk, just a concentrated force of song after song, a sound that is both raw and precise. This is not about nostalgia, but about immediate intensity. The band will celebrate its anniversary in 2026 with the “P40 – Celebrating 40 Years” tour. After stops in the UK and across Europe, three dates in Germany have also been confirmed. In the summer of 2026, the PIXIES will show why, after four decades, they are still one of the most important bands of the present day.