Saint Etienne Announces “The Long Goodbye” Farewell Tour, Reflects on Future Friendships
British option band Saint Etienne will embark on a final tour, “The Long goodbye,” beginning in September 2026, marking a potential turning point for the group’s enduring offstage camaraderie. The announcement arrives as the band prepares to conclude its musical chapter, prompting reflection on thier future interactions beyond the confines of collaborative songwriting and performance.
For over three decades, Saint Etienne – comprised of Sarah cracknell, Pete Wiggs, and Geoff Stanley – has cultivated a distinctive sound blending indie pop, dance, and elegant lyricism. The tour’s conclusion raises questions about the future of their close-knit bond, a friendship often forged and maintained through shared creative endeavors. While the band members acknowledge a natural shift in focus away from the band itself when they are together, they express a desire to continue their friendship outside of a professional context.
“When we meet, we just talk shit anyway. We only talk about the band when we’re forced to,” Cracknell stated in a recent interview. Wiggs added that their gatherings frequently sparked song title ideas, a practice they will no longer share, though he conceded many were “stupid and unusable.” Stanley reminisced about a particularly whimsical suggestion, “‘The Camomile Lawnmower’,” and proposed a group holiday as a future endeavor, noting they currently live in Oxfordshire, Sussex, and Yorkshire, limiting frequent in-person meetings.
“The Long Goodbye” tour dates are as follows:
SEPTEMBER 2026
15 – New Century Hall, Manchester
16 – Beacon Theater, Bristol
18 – Roundhouse, London
19 – Electric, Sheffield
20 – SWG3, Glasgow
22 – 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin
24 – Glasshouse, Gateshead
25 - Dome, Brighton
26 – Corn Exchange, Cambridge
tickets are available through Ticketmaster: https://ticketmaster-uk.tm7559.net/c/2862475/431519/7559?sharedid=NME&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ticketmaster.co.uk%2Fsaint-etienne-tickets%2Fartist%2F847151.
Saint Etienne’s album ‘International’ is currently available on Heavenly Records.
