After 45 Years, The Residents Bring 'Eskimo' to Stages Nationwide for the First Time

After 45 Years of Mystery, The Residents Bring Eskimo to Stages Nationwide   The avant-garde legends launch their first-ever Eskimo Live! Tour – a 15-date coast-to-coast trek performing the landmark 1979 album in full.   Tickets On Sale Friday, October 3 at 10am Local Time   For more information, please visit residents.com

After 45 years of myth, mystery, and anticipation, The Residents will take their landmark 1979 album Eskimo on the road for the very first time. Launching January 9th in Vancouver, BC, the “Eskimo Live! Tour” will bring the iconic avant-garde collective to 15 cities across North America, culminating January 31st in Washington, DC. Each show will feature a full-length live performance of Eskimo – a theatrical, immersive experience reimagined from the original master recordings. Tickets go on sale Friday, October 3rd at 10am local time.   The “Eskimo Live! Tour” is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness one of the most enigmatic and influential art collectives in music history breathe new life into one of their most groundbreaking works. Each night will unfold as a surrealist ritual, featuring narration, characters, and staging designed to expand the mythology that has surrounded Eskimo for nearly half a century.   Originally released at the height of punk’s rise, Eskimo marked a radical departure – not just for The Residents, but for the landscape of experimental music. Eschewing lyrics and genre conventions in favor of fictional anthropology, the album constructs a surreal sonic universe inspired by imaginary Inuit rituals, frozen landscapes, and absurd cultural myths. Eskimo critiques Western imperialism and cultural exploitation not through traditional protest songs, but through hypnotic drones, bone-chilling chants, and grinding sound collages. It is part satire, part sound sculpture, and wholly unlike anything before or since.

Photo credit: The Cryptic Corporation

Long regarded as one of the band’s most daring conceptual works, Eskimo has remained unperformed for more than four decades – until now.   Critics immediately recognized the album’s impact. “What I am sure of is that it’s without doubt one of the most important albums ever made,” wrote Andy Gill in NME. And yet, despite its acclaim and influence, Eskimo became one of those rare albums mythologized not only for its sound, but for its inaccessibility on stage.   With the ESKIMO Live! Tour, that myth becomes a reality.

Photo credit: The Cryptic Corporation

The tour follows a period of renewed creative energy for The Residents. In February 2025, the group released Doctor Dark, a genre-defying modern opera inspired by real-world tragedy and national hysteria. Featuring orchestration by conductor Edwin Outwater and blending heavy metal, classical composition, and avant-garde horror, the album was hailed as one of the band’s most ambitious efforts in decades. But Eskimo remains a cornerstone – a Rosetta Stone to understanding The Residents’ irreverent, immersive, and impossible-to-pin-down aesthetic.   For over five decades, The Residents have defied definition. They claim no members. They don’t give interviews. Their anonymity is a radical artistic stance – one that rejects ego and identity in favor of concept, collaboration, and controlled chaos. Their work has been archived at MoMA, studied by musicologists, and cited as formative by everyone from Devo and Animal Collective to Blue Man Group. But The Residents have never stood still. Their art evolves. Their mystery endures. And now, they’re finally hitting the road to bring Eskimo to life.

Photo credit: The Cryptic Corporation

THE RESIDENTS  –  ESKIMO LIVE! TOUR 2026 Friday, January 9 – Commodore – Vancouver, BC Saturday, January 10 – Neptune – Seattle, WA Monday, January 12 – Wonder Ballroom – Portland, OR Wednesday, January 14 – Palace of Fine Arts – San Francisco, CA Thursday, January 15 – Belly Up – San Diego, CA Saturday, January 17 – The Montalban – Los Angeles, CA Sunday, January 18 – The Marquee – Tempe, AZ Tuesday, January 20 – Oriental Theatre – Denver, CO Thursday, January 22 – Park West – Chicago, IL Saturday, January 24 – Danforth Music Hall – Toronto, ON Sunday, January 25 – Le National – Montreal, QC Tuesday, January 27 – Brighton Music Hall – Boston, MA Wednesday, January 28 – Sony Hall – New York, NY Thursday, January 29 – Colonial Theatre – Phoenixville, PA Saturday, January 31 – Lincoln Theatre – Washington, DC   https://www.residents.com/ https://www.facebook.com/TheOfficialResidents https://www.instagram.com/theofficialresidents/ https://bsky.app/profile/theresidents.bsky.social