Hello 2026!
Our updates for the month. Take a seat and dig in.
Hey cybernauts! We hope you’ve been doing well, and got into 2026 with a renovated spirit and energy. Life is beautiful, and we should try to be happy we’re here to enjoy it.
It’s not easy to stay optimistic in today’s climate, so we hope you can be surrounded by the friendship and love of your close ones in this new year ahead of us.
This month, we have the following to share with you:
How the last shows of the year went
Slow January, and what we’re planning for 2026
Prepping for an European tour
Some things we’ve learned from 11 years on the road
Our memes of the month
How were the last shows of 2025? Bangers, mostly.
Before the year gets fully chaotic, we wanted to look back at December, because… wow. It was a strange, beautiful, loud little month, and it closed our year in the best way possible.
We played a handful of shows around Portugal, and each one had its own weird magic. Some rooms were packed, some were intimate, some had that “everyone here really wants to be here” energy, and all of them reminded us why we do this band thing instead of something sensible.
We got to share the stage with incredible bands, hang with friends we only see on the road, and meet new people who came up after shows to tell us stories, ask about songs, or just say hi. If you were one of those people: thank you. Those moments matter more than you probably think.
December also reminded us of something important: this community around the band, and the scene this band is in, is real. It’s made of friends, strangers-who-feel-like-friends, promoters who care, photographers catching us looking strange, and everyone who simply shows up. That’s huge. We don’t take it for granted.
Here’s how it all went down:
Barreiro Rocks, Barreiro
This one meant a lot. Barreiro Rocks coming back after a hiatus already felt emotional on its own, and playing there again was like walking into a room full of ghosts you actually missed, and that can sing most of the songs in your set. Familiar faces, a festival that genuinely matters, and a feeling that music can disappear and then still somehow come back breathing. Big love to Hey Pachuco, and everyone who makes the festival exist. We’ll always come back.
Setlist:
- Forgive Me, Father, For I Have Sinned
- I Got Friends
- Corpse Light
- Zombie
- Chameleon Kid
- Short Songs (Dead Kennedys cover)
- Body Craves Data
- Operation Vacation Finito
- A Strange Feeling of Existential Angst (extended)
- A Therapist’s Special
- Workworkwork
- Castle Spell
- Oscillations (extended)
- Encore: Charlie Don’t Surf/Post Breakup Stoner
DINAAMO, Barroselas
Sometimes a room is chaos. Sometimes a room is church. This one was… more on the “church” side. Let’s call it contemplative energy. Still: respect and gratitude to the people who were there with us in spirit, sweat and voice. And the team at NAAM, which are great, and like-minded people. And also, a big shout-out to O Triunfo dos Acéfalos! One of the albums of the year for us, and a great, great show. A personification of the phrase: “you hate it, but your kids will love it!”
Setlist:
- Forgive Me, Father, For I Have Sinned
- I Got Friends
- Corpse Light
- Zombie
- Chameleon Kid
- Short Songs (Dead Kennedys cover)
- Body Craves Data
- Operation Vacation Finito
- A Strange Feeling of Existential Angst (extended)
- A Therapist’s Special
- Workworkwork/Congratulations!
- Oscillations (extended)
Uncle Joe’s, Esmoriz
Listen… Esmoriz happened. Everyone has those nights. They’re important too. They keep you humble, and maybe slightly feral. That’s all we’re gonna say.
Setlist:
- Forgive Me, Father, For I Have Sinned
- I Got Friends
- Corpse Light
- Zombie
- Chameleon Kid
- Short Songs (Dead Kennedys cover)
- Body Craves Data
- Operation Vacation Finito
- A Strange Feeling of Existential Angst (extended)
- A Therapist’s Special
- Workworkwork
- Castle Spell
- Oscillations (extended)
Fuzz, Cartaxo
Then everything flipped. Cartaxo was absolutely electric. Loud, sweaty, joyful, people actually moving like music still matters… one of those nights where you walk offstage with your brain screaming “YES THIS.” Huge love to Fuzz and the crew for always being real ones, and for one of the best welcomes we’ve had recently. Might have to start a Christmas tradition ;)
Setlist:
- Forgive Me, Father, For I Have Sinned
- I Got Friends
- Corpse Light
- Zombie
- Chameleon Kid
- Short Songs (Dead Kennedys cover)
- Body Craves Data
- Operation Vacation Finito
- A Strange Feeling of Existential Angst (extended)
- A Therapist’s Special
- Workworkwork
- Castle Spell
- Oscillations (extended)
- Encore: Charlie Don’t Surf (extended)
Natal Malfeito, Fafe
Fafe is always emotional for us. It feels really personal there, in the best way. Friends, familiar faces, warm chaos, ridiculous laughter, and the kind of night where you remember why you like doing this strange thing. We won the quiz in the afternoon (shout-out Cimbalinos), and were gifted a big prize basket with socks, booze and chocolate. Also, met one of the presidential candidates for Portugal (not our vote, tho), because I guess that’s Fafe? Malfeito: we love you, forever.
Setlist:
- Forgive Me, Father, For I Have Sinned
- I Got Friends
- Corpse Light
- Zombie
- Chameleon Kid
- Short Songs (Dead Kennedys cover)
- Body Craves Data
- Operation Vacation Finito
- A Strange Feeling of Existential Angst (extended)
- A Therapist’s Special
- Workworkwork
- Castle Spell
- Oscillations (extended)
- Encore: Charlie Don’t Surf/Post Breakup Stoner
Virada Gandaresa, Cadima
We closed the year in style. Cadima was wild, vibrant, properly unhinged energy in the best possible way. Huge props to Lucia Lima, the cultural association decentralizing these kinds of things. The perfect last punch of 2025, with loud hearts, loud room, loud everything. Couldn’t have asked for a better ending.
Setlist:
- Forgive Me, Father, For I Have Sinned
- I Got Friends
- Corpse Light
- Zombie
- Chameleon Kid
- Short Songs (Dead Kennedys cover)
- Body Craves Data
- Operation Vacation Finito
- A Strange Feeling of Existential Angst (extended)
- A Therapist’s Special
- Workworkwork
- Castle Spell
- Oscillations (extended)
- Monomania (extended)
- Encore: Charlie Don’t Surf (extended)
So yeah, December was weird and beautiful and occasionally confusing, and we wouldn’t change it. If you came to any of these shows, thank you for being part of our year. If you didn’t, don’t worry, because we’re not done making waves yet.
Let’s see what we destroy in 2026.
January shows and plans for 2026…
After the December sprint, January decided to be kinder and only throw two shows our way, but they’re good ones, and they pay really well, so we’re not complaining.
🍪 10 JAN - LISBOA (PT) - Ouro, Incenso e Birra @ Cervejaria Musa, 17:00
We return to Lisbon for an early show, surrounded by beer, friends, and that specific Lisbon energy where a gig at 17h means you’ll be home for dinner. If you’re around, come hang, shout songs at us, and pretend January isn’t actually the strangest month of the year. Also, only chance to catch us on Portuguese soil until March, so step up and come through.
🍪 15 JAN - GRONINGEN (NL) - Eurosonic Noorderslag @ A-Theater, 00:20
Then it’s up north for Eurosonic: lots of music and networking, not enough sleep, endless walking in the cold, and the kind of showcase chaos we weirdly enjoy. Late show, strange hour, perfect conditions for rock and roll. If you’re around, come hang! Pointlist will also be there for the whole week.
January is “quiet” on paper, but behind the scenes it’s the exact opposite. We’re currently trying to look at the whole year at once without screaming, planning tours, booking shows, figuring out where this band goes next, and maybe sketching out what new music might look like. 2026 is already shaping up to be wild, and we’re excited, terrified, and deeply alive about it.
If you’re near Lisbon or Groningen, come say hi. If not, don’t worry: we’re probably coming your way sooner than we think.
Touring Europe next month… Here’s how we’re prepping!
Preparing for a European tour is a strange and individual concept. Everyone does it a bit differently. For us, it feels a bit like planning a wedding, a military operation, and a school field trip at the same time.
You may think it’s just booking shows and rehearsing, but then you fall into a labyrinth of emails, paperwork, logistics, time zones, vans, ferries, budgets, accommodation choices, and existential questions like “how many socks does a human really need to survive?”
Planning never really ends, and every time you think you’re done, another form appears, another detail needs confirming, another spreadsheet multiplies. Spreadsheets become both comforting and terrifying: you feel powerful when they’re organized, and deeply unwell when you look at everything at once.
You learn pretty quickly that communication is everything. With each other. With agents. With promoters. With venues. Over-communicating is always better than assuming things will magically work out (they will not). Meanwhile, the van becomes the true headliner: if the van goes, the tour goes. You treat it like a sacred object, bless it, check it, whisper kind things to it, and hope the Touring Van Gods show mercy.
Rehearsing isn’t just about music, it’s about stamina, chemistry, discipline, and knowing how to function as a band for weeks without losing your minds. Rest becomes part of the preparation too. If you start a tour exhausted, you’ve already lost, so you try to sleep, hydrate, be boring now so you can be chaotic later.
And you must accept that even with all the prep in the world, something will go wrong. Probably more than one thing. Plans explode, reroutes happen, gear misbehaves, borders get weird… but that’s part of touring. Hell arrives, you adapt, and somehow those moments become the best stories.
And under all the stress, there’s this quiet feeling of gratitude: we get to do this. We get to travel, play music, meet incredible people, share nights that might matter to someone. It’s tiring, messy, occasionally ridiculous… but it’s also beautiful. And worth every spreadsheet.
Here’s the dates again, with ticket links:
5 feb ‘26 - Pamplona (ES) - Txintxarri
6 feb ‘26 - Sabiñánigo (ES) - Sala Corleone
7 feb ‘26 - Hossegor (FR) - 416 Crew (FREE ENTRY)
8 feb ‘26 - Nantes (FR) - Lune Froide (FREE ENTRY)
10 feb ‘26 - London (UK) - The Shacklewell Arms (FREE ENTRY - RSVP)
11 feb ‘26 - Northampton (UK) - The Lab
12 feb ‘26 - Bristol (UK) - The Croft (Tickets link)
13 feb ‘26 - Manchester (UK) - Big Hands
14 feb ‘26 - Newcastle (UK) - Zerox (Tickets link)
15 feb ‘26 - Leeds (UK) - Hyde Park Book Club (Tickets link)
16 feb ‘26 - Nottingham (UK) - JT Soar
17 feb ‘26 - Glasgow (UK) - Bloc (FREE ENTRY)
18 feb ‘26 - Tunbridge Wells (UK) - The Sussex Arms (Tickets link)
19 feb ‘26 - Paris (FR) - Supersonic (Tickets link)
20 feb ‘26 - Bordeaux (FR) - Allez Les Filles
21 feb ‘26 - Tours (FR) - Le Foudre (Tickets link)
22 feb ‘26 - Barberaz (FR) - Le Brin de Zinc (Tickets link)
25 feb ‘26 - Den Haag (NL) - Musicon (Tickets link)
26 feb ‘26 - Luxembourg (LU) - Kulturfabrik (Tickets link)
27 feb ‘26 - Hamburg (DE) - Hafenklang (Tickets link)
28 feb ‘26 - Berlin (DE) - Blues Bumps Fest (Tickets link)
1 mar ‘26 - Copenhagen (DK) - Rahuset (Tickets link)
3 mar ‘26 - Prague (CZ) - KC Klubovna
4 mar ‘26 - Budapest (HU) - Szimpla Kert
5 mar ‘26 - Zagreb (HR) - Mochvara
6 mar ‘26 - Memmingen (DE) - Mood Club
7 mar ‘26 - Übersee (DE) - Freiraum e.V.
8 mar ‘26 - Feltre (IT) - Niente
9 mar ‘26 - Montecarotto (IT) - Off 61
11 mar ‘26 - Rome (IT) - Fanfulla
12 mar ‘26 - Torino (IT) - Blah Blah
14 mar ‘26 - Capbreton (FR) - Le Circus
15 mar ‘26 - Zaragoza (ES) - Sala Creedence
Some things we’ve learned from 11 years on the road.
Touring for 11 years does strange things to your brain. It teaches you patience, chaos management, emotional endurance… and also how to find the nearest bathroom in a 3km radius using only wind and an off brand Powerade. We’ve slept on floors, driven through storms, played to packed rooms, empty rooms, weird rooms, and rooms that spiritually felt haunted by a DJ from 2007.
So, here are some of the things we’ve definitely learned on the road over the last decade-plus. Some serious, some stupid, all true in their own ridiculous way:
Soundchecks are a myth. They’re either too long, too short, or happening exactly when your brain is melting.
Every venue has its own version of “we don’t have that cable” and it’s always a different cable every night.
Sleep becomes a currency and every band member has a wildly different budget.
Eating properly is impossible and whoever claims otherwise either has a personal chef or rich parents.
The best shows happen on the nights where everything seemed doomed three hours earlier.
There’s always one city where Google Maps just gives up and leaves you circling like some haunted GPS ghost.
Merch tables are a social experiment: you either sell +200€ or absolutely nothing. There is no inbetween.
You develop a sixth sense for finding clean bathrooms, which is a supernatural power you did not ask for.
Van temperature negotiations are essentially UN peace talks. Someone is freezing. Someone is melting. Someone needs to have the window open. No peace treaty will ever be signed.
Every member of the band (plus drivers, techs, wtv) unanimously agrees the worst part of touring is carrying the drum cases.
If you play enough shows, one of the amps will become sentient and demand rights.
At least one venue will have a backstage that looks like a liminal space between IKEA and a dentist’s office.
At some point, someone will say “We’ve definitely been here before” about a place none of you have ever visited in your lives.
There will be nights where the crowd is tiny but feels like 300 people, and nights where the room is full but feels like a hospital waiting room.
Promoters and/or FOH come in two species: absolute angels who save your life… and people who forgot you exist until soundcheck.
Touring teaches you that “free beer” sounds amazing until the third week when what you really want is hot vegetable soup, emotional stability, and still water.
Someone in the band will always say “this is the last tour where I pack this much stuff” and then pack even more next time.
Hotels (does not matter how many stars) feel like luxury. Floors and couches feel like tradition. Hot showers feel orgasmic.
The inside jokes get weirder every year and at some point stop sounding like human language.
And somehow, despite all of it, you keep going, because playing music with your friends in weird places never really stops feeling like magic.
Our memes of the month
That’s all, folks!
Thanks for reading this far. The next newsletter should probably be about the tour, and the subconsequent ones about how the tour is going. These last ones should be weekly (if we get the chance to write it!) Should be fun!
Here’s a quote we enjoy:
“I mean, what do you do, when you find that things are not what you were taught they’re supposed to be? What do you do with the desperation that boils up from your stomach when you know there’s a road out there with your destination at the end of it, but it’s too damned dark to even find the road? You turn and turn and turn around like a dog trying to escape. Shrieks in the cavity of your head that so urgently needs to be filled with facts and challenges.”
― Harlon Ellison, in his short story “I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream“
Have a wonderful month. We love you.
— Sunflowers, the band