The Interrupters released “Warrior Spirit” on October 8, 2026, the band's return after four years away, co-written with Tim Armstrong, Jesse Michaels, Travis Barker and Brett Gurewitz. They also announced a 33-date 2027 North American tour, and on 19 of those nights Doom Regulator, the Armstrong and Michaels project, plays live for the first time ever.
That second fact is the real news. Armstrong and Michaels were the two main members of Operation Ivy, a band that, as Stereogum put it in August, “famously started in '87 and ended in '89.” Their new project, first called Bad Optix, put out one single, “Raid,” in 2023 and has never played a show. Its first stage will be opening for the ska band whose comeback they just helped write.
What does Warrior Spirit sound like?
The song keeps the ska offbeat and bends it toward early-1980s new wave, with synthesizers and syncopated rhythms over the upstroke. Punknews notes that Travis Barker is on drums and calls it, for now, a stand-alone digital single. Aimee Interrupter frames the lyric around resilience:
Everyone is usually fighting some kind of battle that no one else can see but within each of us lies a warrior spirit that begs us to find our own fearlessness.Aimee Interrupter, via the band's announcement (Icon Vs. Icon, October 8, 2026)
Guitarist Kevin Bivona is blunter about the room: “It was a big dance party in the studio every time this track played. It's got that ska upbeat but we're also tipping our hat to our favorite early 80s new wave bands.”
Look at that writing credit as a family tree. Armstrong launched Hellcat, the Epitaph imprint whose name is on The Interrupters' official site, in 1997, per Stereogum. Gurewitz, of Bad Religion, runs Epitaph. Barker, whose life got the long-form treatment this summer in Louder Than Fear, brings the blink-182 pedigree. The song is a comeback written with the label, the label's founder and the band's heroes all in one room.
Where does Doom Regulator actually play?
Not everywhere, which matters if you are buying a ticket for the history. The March leg runs through the Southwest, Texas and Florida with The Mainliners, and The Aquabats from Austin on. Doom Regulator and RAT BOY join on April 2 in Silver Spring and stay through April 24 in Salt Lake City. Seattle, Portland and San Francisco get RAT BOY with The Bandulus or The Chin Chins instead. Doom Regulator returns for the two California closers.
| Dates (2027) | Run | Support |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 17 to 31 | Pomona to Norfolk, plus Extreme Thing Festival, Las Vegas (Mar 20) | The Mainliners, The Aquabats (from Austin) |
| Apr 2 to 24 | Silver Spring to Salt Lake City, incl. Brooklyn Paramount, MTELUS Montreal, History Toronto | Doom Regulator, RAT BOY |
| Apr 26 to 28 | Seattle, Portland, San Francisco | RAT BOY, The Bandulus or The Chin Chins |
| Apr 30, May 2 | Wiltern, Los Angeles; House of Blues, Anaheim | Doom Regulator, RAT BOY, The Chin Chins, J & Nicki Bonner |
In June the band crosses to Europe for festival slots, among them Greenfield, Nova Rock, Hurricane, Southside and Jera On Air, according to Germany's Pressure Magazine. As of October 16, 2026, we found no report of any date being postponed or cancelled.
Why build a tour on one song?
Because the bill is the pitch. There is no album title or release date yet; Pressure notes the band has only hinted that more material is in progress. Four quiet years is a long time in a genre that lives on the road, and one single will not fill 33 rooms by itself. A first-ever set from the two main members of Operation Ivy might.
The opener is the reason to buy the ticket, and the headliner knows it.
It is also a bet on the middle of the market. These are House of Blues, Fillmore and theater rooms, exactly the tier our look at 2026 ticket prices found under pressure while stadiums boom. The punk circuit has been rebuilding around legacy and lineage, from Warped Tour's return on down. The Interrupters are betting that a bill tying 1987 to now sells better than another night of nostalgia. The April leg is the one with the history.