Spin Doctors To Celebrate 35 Years Of Pocket Full Of Kryptonite With 2026 Australia And New Zealand Tour

Spin Doctors will return to Australia in May 2026, marking their first visit in more than thirty years, as they celebrate the 35th anniversary of their landmark debut album Pocket Full Of Kryptonite. The tour will also include the band’s first ever New Zealand performance, extending the anniversary celebrations across an eleven-date run through capital cities and key regional centres.

The band’s debut album remains one of the defining titles of the early 1990s, driven by the international success of Two Princes and Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong. Both singles helped secure global success for the New York group, who rose from Manhattan’s late 1980s live scene to become a worldwide fixture. The album reached number one in both Australia and New Zealand, earning Platinum status locally and establishing Spin Doctors as one of the era’s most recognisable acts.

For lead vocalist Chris Barron, the tour will reconnect him with a formative part of his past. Barron lived in Australia as a child and has maintained lifelong friendships with local musicians, including Dave Gleeson of The Screaming Jets. Barron says he is “beside himself with anticipation” at the prospect of performing the entire Pocket Full Of Kryptonite album for Australian and New Zealand audiences.

Drummer Aaron Comess shares that sense of appreciation, noting the album’s enduring connection with fans in this part of the world. He says the tour will feature the full album, along with catalogue favourites and select covers that have become part of the band’s recent live sets. Guitarist Eric Schenkman confirms that the group is playing at its highest level and is enthusiastic about returning to a region they have not visited in decades.

Beginning in Fremantle, the tour will move across Adelaide, Geelong, Melbourne, Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Sydney, Townsville, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, before closing in Auckland. Each show will showcase Pocket Full Of Kryptonite in full, offering fans a rare chance to experience the album as a complete work. With hits, deep cuts and selections from their upcoming album Face Full Of Cake, audiences can expect a night that spans the band’s full evolution.

Spin Doctors continue to deliver high-energy sets shaped by more than three decades of performing. From the early club days where extended jams became a calling card, to international festivals and headline tours, the group has retained its reputation for tight musicianship and vibrant stage presence.

Spin Doctors formed in New York City in the late 1980s, emerging first as Trucking Company, a project that included guitarist Eric Schenkman and harmonica player John Popper. When Popper stepped away to focus on Blues Traveler, vocalist Chris Barron moved to the front, joined soon after by drummer Aaron Comess and bassist Mark White. By 1989, the group had established the classic lineup that would shape their breakthrough sound.

After signing with Epic Records in 1990, the band built momentum with their EP Up For Grabs…Live, recorded at Manhattan’s Wetlands Preserve. Their reputation for extended, high-energy shows translated into a growing grassroots following. That foundation helped propel Pocket Full Of Kryptonite after its release in 1991, even as its initial commercial response was modest. When radio and MTV embraced Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong and Two Princes in 1992, the album accelerated rapidly, eventually selling more than ten million copies worldwide.

Throughout the 1990s, Spin Doctors toured extensively, performed at major festivals including Woodstock ’94 and Glastonbury and released albums such as Turn It Upside Down, You’ve Got To Believe In Something and Here Comes The Bride. After a brief hiatus in the late 1990s, the original lineup reunited in 2001, leading to new recordings and ongoing touring across the United States and Europe.

The band’s lineup today features Chris Barron, Eric Schenkman and Aaron Comess, joined by bassist Jack Daley, who became a full-time member in 2024. In 2025, Spin Doctors released their first new single in more than a decade, Still A Gorilla, ahead of their new album Face Full Of Cake.

2026 Australia And New Zealand Tour Dates
Tuesday 12 May 2026, Metropolis, Fremantle, Perth
Wednesday 13 May 2026, The Gov, Adelaide
Friday 15 May 2026, The Story House, Geelong
Saturday 16 May 2026, Forum, Melbourne
Monday 18 May 2026, King Street, Newcastle
Tuesday 19 May 2026, Port Macquarie Race Club
Thursday 21 May 2026, Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Friday 22 May 2026, The Warehouse, Townsville
Sunday 24 May 2026, Tivoli, Brisbane
Monday 25 May 2026, Kings Beach, Sunshine Coast
Wednesday 27 May 2026, Powerstation, Auckland

https://www.destroyalllines.com/tours/spin-doctors