Yard Act at Fine Line, Minneapolis (September 17, 2026)
- Empty Pledges
- Human Sacrifice
- Cherophobe Rock
- When the Laughter Stops
- Dark Days
- Tall Tales
- The Trench Coat Museum
- Dead Horse
- Janey Said
- Dream Job
- New Beginnings
- The Overload
- We Make Hits
- You’re Gonna Need a Little Music
- 100% Endurance
- Over the Barrel
- 9/19 – Chicago, IL @ Riot Fest
- 9/20 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
- 9/22 – Toronto, ON @ The Opera House
- 10/1 – Paris, France @ La Cigale
- 10/2 – Brussels, Belgium @ Ancienne Belgique
- 10/3 – Utrecht, Netherlands @ TivoliVredenburg
- 10/5 – Cologne, Germany @ Gloria-Theater
- 10/7 – Hamburg, Germany @ Uebel & Gefährlich
- 10/8 – Oslo, Norway @ Rockefeller Music Hall
- 10/9 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Kägelbanan
- 10/10 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ VEGA
- 10/12 – Warsaw, Poland @ NIEBO
- 10/13 – Prague, Czech Republic @ MeetFactory
- 10/14 – Berlin, Germany @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
- 10/16 – Lausanne, Switzerland @ Les Docks
- 10/17 – Milan, Italy @ Magazzini Generali
- 10/18 – Toulouse, France @ La Cabane
- 10/20 – Barcelona, Spain @ Sala Apolo
- 10/21 – Madrid, Spain @ Teatro Eslava
- 10/22-23 – Lisbon, Portugal @ Cineteatro Capitólio
■ Yard ActYard Act is an English post-punk band from Leeds, formed in 2019 by James Smith and Ryan Needham. Their 2022 debut, The Overload, was nominated for the Mercury Prize, followed by 2024’s Where’s My Utopia? and 2026’s You’re Gonna Need a Little Music
Yard Act is still gunning for a promotion.
When they last visited Fine Line two years ago, lead singer James Smith might have said more than you’re supposed to say. “We were told that, if we sold out this room tonight, we could play First Avenue next time,” he explained, “…and we did not sell out this room.” So, while Chat Pile and Soul Glo played the larger, somewhat more legendary First Avenue main room on Thursday, Yard Act brought their You’re Gonna Need a Little Music tour from Leeds to the smaller club down the street. “Third time’s the charm,” said Smith.
Yard Act’s attitude has always been world-weary and slightly surreal, with Smith’s free-association storytelling set to disco-informed post-punk. But the latest album centers on themes of disappointment, paranoia, and practicing self-preservation in light of a collapsing society. Working for the first time with producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Paramore, Wolf Alice, Jimmy Eat World), they were encouraged to write and record live, and the results feel more direct and integrated. They’re maturing, but the contrasts are still right in the sweet spot for a certain kind of audience.
That audience trended a little older than I was expecting, but maybe Yard Act’s amused/doomed perspective resonates with a wise, more mature crowd. (Or maybe all the younger post-punk show-goers were at Chat Pile.) They were rewarded with a setlist that hit the highlights of the new record, but balanced that with a generous helping of classics from the Yard Act back catalog. “Dark Days”, “Dead Horse”, and “100% Endurance” all sounded perfect in the room.
All eyes, though, were on Smith’s exuberant performance, spinning and gesticulating as though he can’t believe what he’s having to tell you. He took a break to offer up a timely bit of political commentary, in “free Palestine”, but went on to criticize enemies of freedom such as “Trump” and “Musk” and “Prince”. Before the stunned Twin Cities crowd could attack him, he offered, winkingly, that he was talking about (former-)Prince Andrew, “you know, the paedophile”.
As the show neared its end, Smith came back to the topic of their eventual graduation from Fine Line. “If you’ve enjoyed yourself, and you can just tell one or two people to come to our next show, we’ll be able to play First Avenue,” he pleaded, “and we’d really like to.” Hopefully, the fourth time is the charm.
Minneapolis’s own League Two opened, and they were a great fit for the night. Their dynamic, energetic pop-rock was, in turns, dramatic and chaotic. Eddie Chisham’s charming physical presence was half “master of ceremonies” and half “himself a prisoner of the madness”, enjoying the ride as much as we were.
