Charlie Steen, lead singer of the UK’s Shame, talks latest LP Cutthroat & what it’s like touring in the USA in 2026
It is easy to talk about touring in terms of movement; for Charlie Steen, lead singer of post-punk outfit Shame, it’s largely marked by the countless miles and time spent in a sprinter van. This tour, however, is taking place inside a country that feels unstable in both obvious and unnamed ways, and that instability is bleeding into the small moments as the band makes its way across the United States.
Shame wrote their latest album, Cutthroat (2025), to bring energy into their live set. Faster and louder songs that force people to mosh, crowdsurf, and thrust the room into constant flux, providing a much needed release through music. Offstage, it’s impossible to ignore the current events plaguing the many fans, crew, and friends Charlie encounters. “It’s a strange and devastating time to be in America,” he says without elaborating. He doesn’t need to.
Three days after Alex Pretti was murdered in Minneapolis, Shame played St. Paul and donated that night’s proceeds to Unidos Minnesota. He speaks about it plainly and without performance. “I don’t think we would have felt comfortable without doing something or saying something.” Speaking up for social causes is part of Shame’s DNA. In the pub where they started in 2014, they were constantly surrounded by vocal advocates and looked up to bands like the Stiff Little Fingers, who used their platforms to speak out.
So far, backlash has been minimal. “Apart from some comments from morons, not really,” Charlie shrugs. But, before their Minnesota gig, the band was briefed on the plan if ICE showed up at their show. “Pretty dystopian,” he adds, deadpan.
The Minneapolis show sits heavy in Charlie’s mind and will stay with him as a key memory of this tour. The show is not framed as a highlight; it’s a somber reflection of an international band experiencing America in one of our darkest chapters.
Although he’s gravely aware of the world’s current weight, he’s still able to identify the fun they’re having while performing their newest songs. He counts New York, Detroit, Montreal, and Toronto as his favorite stops at the moment. When I ask him what makes a great show, Charlie is skeptical of metrics. A sold out room can feel empty, a half-full room can feel like the best night on the road. The difference is not easy to define. “It’s just a feeling,” he offers, “Like blackjack. You feel lucky before the next hand.”
More than a decade in, touring is familiar, but the distances are still daunting, and the scale of America remains overwhelming. “That van, that van, that van…” He repeats, shaking his head. His exhaustion is palpable. While attempting to find normalcy on the road, homesickness arrives in flashes. That day, he found solace by listening to The Streets while driving over 790 miles through the heartland.
There is no grand conclusion attached to this itinerary. After finishing their North American leg in Vancouver, the tour continues in Asia and South America, playing to new crowds and cities. The band is loosely thinking about what’s next, though nothing is planned. The current set feels complete, adding to it almost seems intrusive.
When I catch their set in Austin a few days after Charlie and I speak, I agree. The show seamlessly blends their four albums, and I especially appreciated the more rambunctious pieces from Cutthroat. On stage, Charlie transforms from earnest into a flaming ball of energy. Despite the temperature being in the mid 30s, he throws off his shirt and jumps around the stage for over an hour and a half. Finally, he ends the show by scaling the venue’s industrial 10+ foot wall and leaping into the crowd.
Touring, and the country they’re passing through, resists neat explanation. There are moments of joy and moments of sheer despair. But the shows go on, and the noise continues.
All photos by Makaila Heifner
