Enter Shikari announce hiatus from end of 2027 - here’s what happens before then
Enter Shikari have announced that they will step away from recording and performing at the end of 2027 - but before anyone starts saying their goodbyes, there’s plenty more Shikari to come before the end of 2027.
The band confirmed on Thursday that, from the 31st of December 2027, Enter Shikari will “fall dormant as a recording and performing entity”. What happens after that? Even they don't know.
“This dormancy may eventually end with an eruption back into activity, or may end with extinction,” the band said. “We have no idea which.”
So, this isn't being presented as a break-up. But it isn't a quick six-month breather with a comeback already pencilled into the calendar either.
You can read Enter Shikari’s full statement on their website.
Enter Shikari in 2026. Photo: Kate Hook.
Why are Enter Shikari taking a break?
Next year brings a pretty enormous milestone - 20 years since the release of their debut album Take To The Skies.
The four members have been friends for even longer, having played music together since they were teenagers. But the band say the realities of doing this professionally for two decades have changed.
They explained that their priorities and capacities are no longer the same as they were when Take To The Skies was recorded, pointing to the pressures of the modern music industry alongside responsibilities and ambitions outside the band.
The decision also comes after a difficult period for frontman Rou Reynolds. In a video posted last week, Reynolds said he had been dealing with burnout, OCD and nervous-system sensitisation, describing a period in which his capacity had effectively been reduced to zero.
Importantly, though, the band have made clear that discussions about their future began before Reynolds became unwell. His difficulties made those conversations more pressing, but the hiatus hasn't been presented as being caused by one person or one event.
“While we don’t think we’re ‘splitting up’, we do not have a diary that extends beyond 2027,” the band said.
After that, they want some time to find out what being Rou Reynolds, Rob Rolfe, Rory Clewlow and Chris Batten feels like without also having to be Enter Shikari.
Fair enough, really. Twenty years of having your life planned several years in advance is quite a shift from four mates making noisy things together.
There’s plenty happening before the hiatus
First up is the Lose Your Self tour.
Enter Shikari return to UK stages this month with intimate warm-up dates in Oxford and Leicester before beginning their November arena run with Holding Absence and The Callous Daoboys.
The remaining UK and Ireland dates are:
21 October - O2 Academy Oxford
22 October - O2 Academy Leicester
13 November - Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
14 November - Utilita Arena, Cardiff
15 November - Connexin Live, Hull
18 November - OVO Hydro, Glasgow
19 November - Co-op Live, Manchester
20 November - Alexandra Palace, London
21 November - Alexandra Palace, London
2 December - The Telegraph Building, Belfast
3 December - The Academy, Dublin
4 December - The Academy, Dublin
For all confirmed shows and ticket options, visit Enter Shikari’s official tour page.
The band say they are now concentrating on making those shows “the absolute best” they can, acknowledging that for some fans, they could turn out to be the final opportunity to see Enter Shikari live.
And they're not finished making things either.
Enter Shikari say more new music is already being worked on and should be heard “sooner rather than later”. They've also finished filming something else - although, for now, they're keeping quiet about exactly what that is.
Their current album Lose Your Self arrived completely out of the blue in April, with no advance singles or promotional build-up. The 12-track record is the band's eighth studio album and followed 2023's A Kiss For The Whole World, which gave them their first UK Number One album.
Listen to Lose Your Self here.
And then there’s 2027…
Enter Shikari already have mainland European and North American festival appearances booked for next year, while shows in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee are due to be announced for January.
That North American return will be particularly welcome after the band's planned 2026 US and Canadian touring was cancelled because of unresolved visa problems.
What they aren't announcing is a giant farewell world tour.
The band admit they would like to visit some favourite places “one last time”, but say they don't yet know how practical that will be. No additional UK shows for 2027 were announced as part of today's statement.
There is, however, unfinished business with the back catalogue.
2027 somehow manages to bring three Enter Shikari album anniversaries at once: 20 years of Take To The Skies, 15 years of A Flash Flood Of Colour and 10 years of The Spark.
The band want to celebrate all three, although exactly what that means is still being discussed.
And then comes perhaps the most intriguing little detail buried in the announcement. They've been going back through the original Take To The Skies multitracks.
They aren't saying what they're doing with them yet. Just “More on that soon.”
So although today's announcement inevitably feels like the beginning of an ending, Enter Shikari aren't disappearing tomorrow.
There are two UK warm-up gigs, a major arena tour, new music, a mystery filmed project, international dates and an anniversary-packed 2027 still to come.
Beyond that, nobody - including the four members of Enter Shikari - knows what happens.
For fans wondering whether to catch them while they still can, the band's own words make the situation pretty clear: don't assume there'll always be another tour.
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