The Hobknobs, the new Netherlands band featuring Arie Van Vliet of Lewsberg and Yaël Dekker of The Klittens on guitars and vocals, have just announced a 16-show tour of select US cities that begins this Wednesday, 4/22 in Chicago. They'll be touring as a trio joined by The Klittens’ Katja Kahana on bass.
This tour and the accompanying tape, or should we say this tape and the accompanying tour, means a turning point. Not for the world, not for music, but for The Hobknobs. The first months of the year were all about working on new music. And that work was done mostly behind the scenes. But today 2026 has properly started for Yaël Dekker and Arie van Vliet. With a sixteen-date tour in the U.S., an album on the way (more about that later), and the first proper release on 12XU (a tape called ‘Turning 26’). Or is it a proper release? This tape is a collage of live performances, rehearsals, alternative takes and field recordings. And as Dekker and Van Vliet state: “We invite everybody to listen to this tape, but this tape is not for everybody.” Which is the reason why this tape is only available during the upcoming tour, and will not be available for streaming or purchasing online.
Come see The Hobknobs play and get your copy of ‘Turning 26’ here:
THE HOBKNOBS US TOUR 2026
4/22 Chicago - Pale Horse Cafe at Theatre Y
4/23 Omaha - Pageturner’s
4/24 Lawrence KS - White Schoolhouse w/ Eggs on Mars, Figure Model
4/25 Memphis - Bar DKDC
4/26 Jackson MS - End of All Music
4/27 Atlanta - The EARL w/ Messthetics
4/28 Carrboro NC - All Day Records w/ Entrez Vous
4/30 Wash., DC - Rhizome w/ Linda Smith
5/1 Philadelphia - Jerry’s on Front w/ Emily Robb
5/2 Boston - O’Brien’s w/ Lightheaded, Intac
5/3 Providence - Providence Popfest
5/5 Brooklyn - Hart Bar w/ Van Goth, CS Cleaners
5/6 Kingston NY - Tubby’s
5/7 Pittsburgh - Government Center
5/8 Indianapolis - State Street Pub w/ Miranda of The Spatulas
5/9 Detroit - Outer Limits
The Hobknobs’ “2025 release, "Gather No Moss”: https://correctcassettes.bandcamp.com/album/gather-no-moss
Music video for “The Mind”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmjCtqaDcLs&t=1s
“To describe the music of The Hobknobs, use the word ‘natural’. And what you will mean is: fitted to itself; essentially, albeit politely, uninterested in whether or not you’re looking. You might think of early rock ’n’ roll and you’ll be thinking of its energetic nonchalance and honest economy minus any sentimentality. Sonically and lyrically, the elements of the songs dovetail showing how they move but giving no temptation to take them apart. The duo Yaël Dekker and Arie van Vliet have long admired each other’s music but their collaboration here is not a closed conversation — at the same time colloquial and cerebral, we are invited in, if we can hang. As a natural thing is self-possessed, The Hobknobs deftly maneuver so that we stand with them, hearing and seeing with them, and find that each song is a place to be.” – Karina Gill (of Cindy)
“[The Hobknobs} Stoic, dulcet jangly guitar pop that is reminiscent of Lewsberg’s Out and About era matter-of-fact melancholy and traipsing through The Klittens-style post-punk brevity and energy. Offering the semi-spoken word vocals, Van Vliet’s trademark spastic guitar riffs, and the general sense of Netherlands cool that the best of the country’s indie scene offers, the track harks back to the brilliance of the earliest Lewsberg aesthetic.” - JanglePop Hub
