Candlebox are hitting the road hard this fall. The multi-platinum Seattle rock veterans have announced the “Can’t Quit You” tour, a 32-date North American run that opens Thursday, September 17 at The Pageant in St. Louis, Missouri and closes Friday, October 30 in Sayreville, New Jersey. Billed as the band’s most extensive headline trek in years, the run leans on a rotating cast of supporting acts — The Mountain Goats, Sponge, The Verve Pipe, Sweet Water and American Blonde — across its dates.
The tour rides a wave of renewed momentum sparked by the return of guitarist Peter Klett, who rejoined Candlebox last year after a decade away. Frontman Kevin Martin has credited that reunion with reigniting the band’s creative spark — and it’s already bearing fruit beyond the stage. Candlebox had positioned 2023’s The Long Goodbye as their farewell, but Klett‘s comeback pulled them out of retirement; the band now has eight new songs in progress and a ninth studio album penciled in for 2027.
Martin tied the tour’s title directly to the band’s bond with its audience. “The phrase ‘Can’t Quit You’ really speaks volumes to how important our fans are to us and the music we create,” he said. “Candlebox has always relied on the energy our fans bring and the atmosphere that live music brings.”
The supporting acts, several of them peers from the same ’90s alternative wave, were quick to share their excitement. The Verve Pipe‘s Brian Vander Ark put it plainly: “Opening for a band that helped shape the alternative landscape is a f**king dream come true.” Sponge frontman Vinnie Dombroski pointed to a full-circle moment: “It’s always a thrill to share the stage with Candlebox! Our first major tour in the early ’90s was with Candlebox, and we’ve come full circle. Who says you can’t travel back in time?”
The Mountain Goats‘ John Darnielle shared perhaps the most fitting bit of serendipity: “Two weeks before we were set to release the song ‘Candlebox‘, a song I wrote in the summer of ’25 and which only we in camp had heard, my manager texted me that Candlebox was seeking support for their first headline tour in a good long minute. It was written in the stars! This fated confluence will light up the skies of St. Louis and Florence like a Roman, wait for it, candle. We answer the call of fate! Meet you in St. Louis, fellas!”
American Blonde‘s Nata and Tinka Morris added: “We are over the moon to be playing on Candlebox‘s fall tour! Getting to share the stage with musicians we’ve grown up listening to and learning from…excited is an understatement. We cannot WAIT for these shows.”
Sweet Water‘s Rich Credo kept it simple: “Sweet Water is all about keeping rock alive and sharing our music with the people… we love that we get to do that with our friends Candlebox in our hometown. This show is going to be bada**.”
Candlebox first broke out of Seattle in 1993 with their quadruple-platinum self-titled debut, which has moved more than four million copies and spawned enduring hits like “Far Behind“, “You“, “Cover Me” and “Change“. The band’s early rise included a main-stage set at Woodstock ’94 and tours alongside Metallica, Rush and Aerosmith. Ticket on-sales for the fall run begin Friday, July 17 at 10 a.m. local time.
Candlebox — “Can’t Quit You” tour dates:
- September 17 – The Pageant, St. Louis, MO (with The Mountain Goats)
- September 18 – Oktoberfest, Downers Grove, IL
- September 19 – Belterra Casino Resort, Florence, IN (with The Mountain Goats)
- September 22 – Belly Up Aspen, Aspen, CO (with Sponge)
- September 23 – The Depot, Salt Lake City, UT (with Sponge)
- September 25 – Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA (with Sweet Water, Sponge)
- September 26 – Rock The Locks 2026, Umatilla, OR
- September 27 – Elsinore Theatre, Salem, OR (with Sponge)
- September 29 – The Guild Theatre, Menlo Park, CA (with Sponge)
- September 30 – Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA (with Sponge)
- October 2 – The Observatory North Park, San Diego, CA (with Sponge)
- October 3 – The Edge Pavilion, Laughlin, NV (no support)
- October 4 – Marquee Theatre, Phoenix, AZ (with Sponge)
- October 6 – Gothic Theatre, Denver, CO (with Sponge)
- October 8 – White Oak Music Hall, Houston, TX (with Sponge)
- October 9 – The Cypress Cove Ballroom, Bay St. Louis, MS (no support)
- October 10 – Iron City, Birmingham, AL (with Sponge, American Blonde)
- October 11 – Brooklyn Bowl, Nashville, TN (with Sponge, American Blonde)
- October 13 – FIVE, Jacksonville, FL (with Sponge)
- October 14 – The Plaza Live, Orlando, FL (with Sponge)
- October 16 – The Shed, Maryville, TN (with The Verve Pipe, American Blonde)
- October 17 – The Bluestone, Columbus, OH (with The Verve Pipe)
- October 18 – The Fillmore Detroit, Detroit, MI (with The Verve Pipe)
- October 20 – The Fillmore Silver Spring, Silver Spring, MD (with Sponge)
- October 21 – Electric City, Buffalo, NY (with Sponge)
- October 22 – Roxian Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA (with Sponge)
- October 24 – House of Blues, Cleveland, OH (with Sponge)
- October 25 – Penn’s Peak, Jim Thorpe, PA (with Sponge)
- October 26 – Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY (with Sponge)
- October 28 – Citizens House of Blues, Boston, MA (with Sponge)
- October 29 – The Paramount, Huntington, NY (with Sponge)
- October 30 – Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ (with Sponge)
