A Glorious Resurgence: The Neighbourhood Return With Massive Global Arena Tour

In the music world, there are fewer words more troublesome for fans than “hiatus,” especially when it is preceded by the word indefinite, leaving many to speculate about what led to that dreaded decision.

Exactly how long is indefinite? Some acts such as LMFAO and Outkast haven’t made new music in over a decade.

Fortunately for Neighbourhood fans, they didn’t have to wait too long for the band’s grand return. After going on hiatus in February 2022, the rock band that rose to meteoric heights just out of high school returned to the industry three years and six months later, wiser, refreshed, and more beloved than they could ever imagine.

A few months after dropping their fifth studio album (((((ultraSOUND)))))) last year, the quintet—comprising singer Jesse Rutherford, guitarists Jeremy Freedman and Zach Abels, bassist Mikey Margott and drummer Brandon Fried—announced a global tour unlike anything they’ve ever done, visiting arenas across the world and hitting markets like Istanbul, Prague, Berlin, Paris, Manchester, Sydney and many more.

“Things became bigger, and now we’re entering this kind of new chapter where everywhere we’re playing is pretty much sold out in arenas all over the world,” Abels tells Pollstar. “Honestly, it kind of feels like a dream where I’m about to wake up and be like, ‘Oh, damn. I knew that was a little too good to be true,’ you know? I’m here with my friends in Hawaii, and I get to play a show here, and that’s awesome.”

It’s a dream a group of kids from Newbury Park, California couldn’t have imagined, playing a sold-out show at the iconic Madison Square Garden and grossing more than $1.4 million, according to Pollstar Boxoffice Reports. Those figures and venues are a far cry from the band’s 2019 “Middle of Somewhere Tour,” which mostly played in theaters and concert halls.

What was a difficult decision turned out to be a blessing in disguise, with the band’s catalog finding new audiences during the hiatus thanks to streaming platforms and social media, where their first smash hit, “Sweater Weather,” went viral.

“The hiatus was an interesting time because of so much going on and so much in the air that it kind of felt like, ‘Who knows where we’ll be as a career when we get back together?’” Margott tells Pollstar. “We always knew we wanted to get back together because we’re best friends, grew up together, and we knew that would happen. But the rise in our fan base during that time was obviously unforeseen, and we’re just incredibly grateful.

“We played some iconic venues. We already did MSG and the O2 in London. Those were very special moments. And getting to play in Hawaii again is so unique and rare.”

It’s not often you see a notable rock band add Honolulu to their tour routing, but for an act with five tracks surpassing 1 billion streams, including “Sweater Weather,” which is nearing 5 billion, the demand to see The Neighbourhood is coming from just about any sector of the world.

The band’s indie pop rock sensibilities, atmospheric sound and experimentation with various genres, including hip-hop, R&B and Americana, continue to resonate with a new generation of fans, making them one of Spotify’s most popular rock acts with more than 47 million monthly listeners.

“To some degree it feels like it’s done very quietly,” says Marty Diamond, EVP and managing executive at THE·TEAM, who books the band in North America along with Vice President and Music Agent Ash Mowry. “But on the other side of it, ‘Sweater Weather’ is probably one of the top five streamed songs in the world. They’ve always put on compelling performances. The productions they’ve put out have always been inventive and very thought-provoking. They don’t phone it in. They basically put it on the table.”

They put it on the table from day one when Rutherford presented manager Kirk Harding with the first song he and his friends wrote.

“It was ‘Sweater Weather,’” Harding recalls the first time he heard a song from the band. “I told him it was amazing, and I met the guys and brought them into a real studio and made an EP.”

The song became a hit on local radio stations but rarely ranked on any chart, lingering around long enough to be recognized but never played out.

“I think there was a blessing bestowed upon us that it never really hit the top 10 at the time,” Harding says. “I think, in a way, it kind of saved the song a bit.”

It may have also saved the band, giving them enough of a presence on radios and streaming platforms for fans to discover other tracks on their debut studio album I Love You., which also featured hits “Afraid” and “A Little Death.”

They quickly went from high schoolers thinking about graduation to learning about rock star responsibilities, meeting with labels and planning a tour all within a single year, which was as exciting as it was overwhelming.

“Me and Jeremy were just about to graduate high school, and we didn’t know what we wanted to do, if we wanted to go to college or what route we wanted to take,” Abels says. “The band just kind of happened, and it was one thing after another. ‘Sweater Weather’ was the first song we wrote together, and it made everything happen, making us a band and deciding to go for it together.

“We were just experiencing it, and we were obviously so young. We were kind of figuring it all out. Everything was moving extremely fast.”

The Neighbourhood hit the road within a year of releasing its album and opened for bands such as Animal Kingdom, Temper Trap and Passion Pit while squeezing in some headline shows at clubs and playing the grandaddy of festivals in 2013.

“Growing up in California, Coachella was such a goal. It was an incredible situation to be asked to perform in it,” says Margott. “We were the second band on stage that day and loved it so much. Having our friends and fans in the crowd, it was just awesome and a cool experience.”

It was a rapid ascension for the boys, but they weren’t fazed at the time and managed to avoid a sophomore slump. The boys delivered yet again with their second LP, Wiped Out!, which features fan favorites “Daddy Issues” and “The Beach,” and veered more into R&B with a soulful, hazy sound.

That versatility and willingness to play with genre may be the secret to casting a wider net and capturing more fans, or it could be as simple as Diamond puts it: “It’s just that they make great music.

“They’re compelling performers, and that’s what it is for me. I don’t think it’s a genre thing,” Diamond adds. “I don’t think it’s a rock thing. They’re just great.”

The Neighbourhood went on to put out two more albums, an eponymous LP in 2018 and the David Bowie-inspired Chip Chrome & the Mono-Tones in 2020, before announcing the dreaded h-word in 2022.

Harding says the hiatus was unplanned and that Rutherford felt the need to step away for some time, and it seemed like the rest of the members also needed to recalibrate and reflect on what had transpired in their lives over the previous decade.

“As the band was going, we were growing up and becoming adults and kind of figuring out who we wanted to be as individuals,” Abels says. “I think being on the road or always having band stuff on the horizon kind of distracted us from fully developing into adults. Even though at the time I didn’t want to go on a break, in hindsight, it was definitely beneficial and needed for all of us. We all grew up and figured our personal stuff out in that time.”

Stepping away from the live scene and the studio also allowed Abels to figure out what success means to him.

“When we put out an album, and it didn’t go viral right away, what does that mean? It’s a failure. OK. Maybe at the moment it did feel like a failure,” he says. “Or maybe putting a tour on sale and you’re playing the same venues and feeling like, ‘Dang, our peers are leveling up, but we’re playing the same places.’ If I could go back and have that instant success, would I choose that path over the path we’re on right now? I don’t know if I would because it’s kind of been a slow burn, and we’ve been a band for almost 15 years now, and we’re still doing it, and the biggest we’ve ever been. None of us expected that. Maybe as adults, we can appreciate it in ways that we wouldn’t have bene able to if it happened to us when we were younger.”

The Neighbourhood’s “slow burn” career is a testament to the band’s catchy output, but it’s also indicative of the eclectic taste of younger generations that are nostalgic for a time and music they never experienced. Even if they weren’t there for the band’s rise, they could be there for the reclamation. Another rock band to experience a similar resurgence is Weezer, whose track “Go Away” reached No. 90 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March…11 years after it was released.

One trend in the algorithm can truly change an artist’s trajectory. While on hiatus, The Neighbourhood’s music was featured in many social media posts, and fans reclaimed it in all kinds of ways, including bisexual members of the LGBTQ+ community who adopted “Sweater Weather” as a modern anthem.

“We had moments with these songs where they really came on strong with trends on TikTok and social media, and it became a blessing that we had kind of stepped away and let the catalog have its time,” Harding says. “And when we come back, we come back with this mantra of making the moment and the hiatus matter, you know? The way we came back had to be meaningful.”

The response to their music inspired the band to get back into the studio to create more tracks, and in August 2025, they announced they were working on new material to make “the most Neighbourhood sounding record we could,” Abels says. (((((ultraSOUND)))))) dropped three months after the band announced its return and “Wourld Tour” promoted by Live Nation.

It was The Neighbourhood’s most ambitious trek, spanning the globe and jumping into iconic arenas for the first time. James Whitting, an EVP and managing executive at THE·TEAM based in London, tells Pollstar they sold 80% on the onsale and continued to add dates in Europe. He wasn’t surprised by the tour’s success because streaming numbers gave the team confidence as they mapped out the lengthy trek, which began in March and runs through December.

“Sometimes you just have to go for it a little bit,” says Whitting, who handles international bookings along with Music Agent Olly Hodgson. “Some of the promoters were dialed in. They completely backed it, and some of the promoters weren’t really sure and said, ‘Do you really think they’re worth that?’ I don’t want to name names, but there are a couple of places we went back to, which are upgrades on the previous times. It’s a bit of a validation, but it’s great to be selling these shows and upgrading and going further in some of these markets on this same run because it lays the foundation for the future and what we want to do.”

There is one market that is up to three nights, and it’s in their backyard. The Neighbourhood will play for their hometown crowd at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, Oct. 9, Dec. 4 and Dec. 5, a dream for any artist who grew up in Southern California.

“To be able to play there, it’s just so historic. It’s such a unique experience,” says Margott, who is a big Los Angeles Lakers fan and beamed with pride as he spoke about the Forum. “I wish it was still where the Lakers played. … It’s all unraveling in real time, and it’s such a surprising and grateful experience to add one show at the beginning of this tour and then be told, ‘Hey guys, it’s selling really well. Maybe we should do a second.’ And then, ‘Wow. That’s sold out as well. Let’s add a third.’ “

Returning to the global stage with a major tour is essentially playing with house money for The Neighbourhood, who could have ridden off into the sunset with a standout catalog that continues to climb streaming ranks. But they pushed themselves to create more slow burns and visit the people who helped make them stream sensations.

“They’re genuinely humbled by their fans. It sounds like a cliché, but the way that the fans have come out for them on this cycle and these dates, they’re eternally grateful,” Harding says. “Honestly, they could have sat back and lived pretty comfortably off of streaming income. They make really good income from streaming. None of this was ever, ‘Let’s go out there and mop up a whole bunch of money,’ which is why they’re more than happy to sink so much money into production because they’re like, ‘We’d rather have this done right than go out there with something we can’t stand in front of and be happy with.’”

For their first headline tour in seven years, The Neighbourhood wanted to make a statement, one that resonated as much as “Sweater Weather” and their other hits.

“We’re back, we’re here and we’re ready to perform at this level again,” Margott says. “… We’re trying to meet the moment because we feel it’s important to always do that and to always feel like we’re pushing ourselves as well as giving fans something new and what they deserve.”