Recommendations of the Editorial team
Even at 73, Kim Gordon isn’t thinking about retiring to a cozy country house in the Hamptons.
Quite the opposite. In mid-April 2026, she played an acclaimed concert in the Paris Théâtre Le Trianon – a kind of fake castle in the Pigalle nightlife district.
In addition to songs from the previous solo albums “The Collective” and “No Home Record”, Kim Gordon presented the new opus “Play Me” in full length for the first time. The concert was recorded by the French-German TV channel arte and is now available in the media library.
Uncompromising, confident, great
An impressive document from Gordon’s current musical creative phase. She was accompanied on stage by Emily Retsas (bass), Madi Voigt (drums) and Sarah Register (guitar). The British Observer wrote about a performance in London: “You don’t miss Sonic Youth at all that evening. This Kim Gordon version is uncompromising, confident and simply great.”
In summer 2026, Kim Gordon will initially continue her live shows in North America.
“Play Me”: Political, personal, physical
“Play Me,” Gordon’s third solo album, was released in March. In her own way, she deals with the “deformations caused by the billionaire class”: the dismantling of democratic structures, technocratic apocalyptic fascism and a flattening of (sub)culture fueled by AI.
Black humor meets the absurdities of the present. Despite this political lens, it remains a personal affair – an emotional, physically driven jam session. The last album also expands the sonic range to include more melodic beats, as the single “Not Today” shows.
Four shows, big impact
On her last flying visit to Europe she made herself scarce. There were four shows: In addition to London, Brussels and Berlin, she stopped by the arte gig in the French capital.
In 2011, after 30 years of intense band and marriage work, Sonic Youth famously split up following the divorce of Gordon and mastermind Thurston Moore. The iconic couple of the US post-punk scene was history.
Since then, the members have pursued various solo projects. The characteristic Gordon style is retained.
France as a destination of the heart
France has become something of a heartfelt destination for Gordon in recent years. After an appearance in the Bois de Vincennes at the “We Love Green” festival in 2024 and a show at the Élysée Montmartre in October of the same year – on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Les Femmes s’en Mêlent festival – the triumph from the heart of Pigalle followed.
