Little Stranger has spent the better part of a decade refusing to stay in one lane — Kevin Shields rapping over John Shields’ acoustic guitar, reggae grooves drifting into gospel, hip-hop bleeding into folk soul — and the whole thing holds together better live than it looks on paper. On Thursday, February 25, the Charleston-based duo brings the Broken Hearted Boys Tour to Higher Ground in South Burlington, with Shwayze and Damn Skippy along for the ride.
About the Show
The Broken Hearted Boys Tour launched in July 2026 across more than 30 U.S. dates, and this February stop is part of an extended winter run. Little Stranger is touring behind Sat Around Trippin’ (June 28, 2024, Ineffable Records), their first new studio material since 2021’s Trip Around Saturn. The nine-track record was self-produced at the duo’s Hoopoe Studio in Charleston, though the creative restart began when they rented a cabin in Bat Cave, North Carolina to start fresh with “a clean slate.” The album features contributions from Andy Frasco, G. Love, and Damn Skippy, who appears both on the record and on the Higher Ground bill alongside Shwayze.
Between the two studio albums, the band has logged appearances at Lollapalooza, Governor’s Ball, Hangout Fest, BottleRock, and the Levitate Music & Arts Festival, toured with Stick Figure and SOJA in the summer of 2024, and appeared on Slightly Stoopid’s “Step Into The Sun” tour with Iration in 2025.
Their sound draws comparisons to Beck, Sublime, Gorillaz, and The Beastie Boys. That’s less a genre tag than a rough map of the range. The signature is Kevin’s rap delivery over John’s acoustic guitar, moving through reggae, folk, soul, and occasional gospel textures. “We take what we do seriously, but we don’t take ourselves seriously,” Kevin Shields has said. For this tour, the live setup expands to include a horn section and a backup vocalist. Phish bassist Mike Gordon attended a Little Stranger show in May 2023 and later jammed with the duo at his home — a footnote that lands a little differently when you know John Shields has been to nearly 45 Phish shows.
Venue & Logistics
Higher Ground in South Burlington sits at the Vermont edge of the north-country music corridor, a room with a track record of booking exactly the kind of relentlessly touring acts Little Stranger has become. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for the 7:30 p.m. show. The event is all ages.
Tickets
Tickets are $30.50–$99.00. Buy tickets