Photos by Sharon Steele – At an age when many legacy artists content themselves with the comfortable nostalgia of retrospective box sets and hits-heavy anniversary tours, Kim Gordon continues to radically rewrite the rules of alternative culture. Decades after co-founding Sonic Youth and asserting herself as the indelible godmother of grunge, the 72-year-old pioneer remains arguably the coolest and most forward-thinking artist on the planet. Approachable not just as a conventional musician but as a deeply visual and performance-driven creator, Gordon uses noise, disorder, and societal commentary to continuously shatter the boundaries between the mainstream and the avant-garde underground.
The year 2026 marks an exhilarating new chapter in Gordon’s solo career with the March release of her acclaimed third solo LP, PLAY ME. Arriving hot on the heels of 2024’s trap-infused, Grammy-nominated The Collective, the new record doubles down on her fearless electronic evolution. Backed by an aggressive, industrial-injected trip-hop pulse and featuring standout tracks like the shoegaze-drenched “Not Today” and the heavy bass-knocker “Dirty Tech,” PLAY ME proves that her sonic grip is as unyielding as ever. The album acts as a vital, visceral reflection on the modern digital landscape—a word-collage commentary on technology, apathy, and systemic madness delivered in her signature, deadpan spoken-sung style.
To support the new material, Gordon has spent 2026 taking her intoxicating live performance across the globe, captivating audiences with a young, hyper-efficient band that brings the album’s raw textures to life. After locking in a hypnotic string of European and North American dates earlier in the spring and summer—including standout stops at major music hubs like Chicago’s Metro and Vancouver’s Hollywood Theatre—Gordon shows no signs of slowing down. With upcoming, highly anticipated Canadian stops scheduled for Toronto’s Opera House and Montreal’s Théâtre Beanfield this September, Kim Gordon isn’t just maintaining her legacy in 2026; she is actively orchestrating a masterclass in modern artistic rebellion.
SASAMI
Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist, producer, and singer-songwriter SASAMI continues to solidifying her reputation as one of indie music’s most unpredictable chameleons. Having effortlessly drifted from her synth-driven self-titled debut to the blistering, industrial-metal heights of 2022’s queeze, the conservatory-trained artist has built a career out of defying expectations. Her latest creative shift culminated in Blood on the Silver Screen, a bold, hyper-stylized venture into the linguistic and sonic world of avant-pop co-produced with Jenn Decilveo and Rostam. Solely written by SASAMI, the record combined her intricate compositional background with high-octane pop songwriting to explore love, obsession, and power.
The year 2026 marks a fascinating transitional chapter for the artist as she celebrates the record’s legacy and hints at her next evolution. Following the spring release of Blood on the Silver Screen: Director’s Cut—an expanded edition featuring collaborations and remixes by artists like Clairo, Soccer Mommy, and Angie McMahon—SASAMI embarked on a reimagined tour backed by a classical chamber ensemble rather than e-drums and flashing lights. Concurrently sharing her expertise through online songwriting workshops with School of Song, SASAMI enters the latter half of 2026 coming full circle. Having conquered metal, folk, and pop, she has begun steering her sound back toward her classical origins, ensuring that whatever she constructs next will be entirely on her own terms.
