The Sword have announced a pair of reunion gigs, as the Texas stoner rock heroes appear to be back for good.
Following their appearance at the Levitation festival in Austin in 2024, as well as a few recent winter shows in Austin, Baton Rouge, and Houston, The Sword will return to the stage on April 10th at the Granada Theater in Dallas, as well as the following night, April 11th, at Paper Tiger in San Antonio. Tickets are on-sale Friday (February 7th) at 10 a.m. local time via local ticket outlets.
The 2025 gigs align with the 15th anniversary of 2010’s Warp Riders, a modern stoner-rock classic, and come roughly three years after The Sword called it quits in 2022.
In a new interview with Revolver, singer-guitarist JD Cronise compared the reunion to “putting on a comfortable pair of sneakers,” and revealed that the band has “lots more stuff coming up in the summertime” beyond the two Texas shows in April.
“We know there’s demand,” said Cronise. “It’s not a matter of that. It was gratifying and great that [Levitation] show was a sellout. And, you know, I’m sure Pentagram being on the bill helped. But it was a great return. But, you know, even if it had not been that great, I don’t think that would have stopped us.”
He continued, “The thing is, being in the Sword is what provides each of us with the most income. So, if you want to look at it that way, too, that was definitely a factor. Like, nobody really likes what they’re doing more than [being in] the Sword — [in terms of] what they have to do to make money. I’d much rather go on tour and record music than work at some regular nine-to-five, you know?”
Cronise added that the band “will probably be embarking on some touring later this year” surrounding the 15th anniversary of Warp Riders. As for new music, he said there are some demos kicking around, and that “we’ll be able to get into the nitty gritty of working on new material” after his relocation to Austin (Cronise had been displaced from his home in Black Mountain, North Carolina, by Hurricane Helene).
The most recent release by The Sword is a cover of Jethro Tull’s “Locomotive Breath,” the final piece of music recorded before the breakup in 2022. You can revisit that track, released last November, below.