Crash Test Dummies

Crash Test Dummies land at O2 Academy Oxford on 16 October 2026 for a set shaped by Brad Roberts’ baritone and the vocal counterpoint of Ellen Reid, with Dan Roberts on bass, Benjamin Darvill on multiple instruments and Mitch Dorge on drums. Formed in Winnipeg in the mid‑80s, the band moves between alternative rock, folk rock and pop with country inflections, leaning on acoustic textures and narrative songwriting.

Live, they thread the early acoustic feel of The Ghosts That Haunt Me into the harmony‑rich, mid‑tempo contours of God Shuffled His Feet, then open into the more electric and experimental edge of A Worm’s Life and the groove‑oriented turns of Give Yourself a Hand. The mood can shift toward stripped‑back intimacy too, with folk‑tinged ballads and thematic pieces drawn from later albums like I Don’t Care That You Don’t Mind and Oooh La La!. The show spans their catalogue with arrangements that favor space, melody and a steady pulse, mixing longstanding staples with more recent songs.