Ethel Cain had a great year with the release of her latest album, Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You. Before ringing in 2026, she decided to give fans one more gift this year: a handful of demos from the making of the project, which she shared on Soundcloud yesterday (December 29).
Announcing the tracks on Instagram, Cain wrote, “uploaded some demos from willoughby tucker onto my soundcloud. thank u all for the love on perverts and my little blood stained blonde this year. until whatever’s next…. goodnight.”
The individual song uploads on Soundcloud come with brief notes. Cain writes of “Shrug (Janie Demo),” “shrug (the original title for janie) was originally going to be from willoughby’s perspective as well. dust bowl was going to transition directly into it. i wound up reworking it a bit to be about janie.” She also wrote for “A Knock At The Door (Demo I),” “a lot of the lyrics from these demos got shuffled around until they found their homes. i wrote all three versions of this song in the same day and picked my favorite version two years later while finishing the record. it wound up being the simplest version in the end, but i think these two versions elaborate a little more on the story. that might be why i avoided them, thinking they were too on the nose idk. i like all three versions a lot.”
Listen to the songs above and check out Cain’s upcoming tour dates below.
Ethel Cain’s 2026 Tour Dates
02/13/2026 — Auckland, New Zealand @ Auckland Town Hall
02/14/2026 — Auckland, New Zealand @ Auckland Town Hall
02/16/2026 — Melbourne, VIC @ Palais Theatre
02/17/2026 — Melbourne, VIC @ Palais Theatre
02/18/2026 — Melbourne, VIC @ Palais Theatre
02/19/2026 — Melbourne, VIC @ Palais Theatre
02/21/2026 — Sydney, NSW @ The Hordern Pavilion
02/22/2026 — Sydney, NSW @ The Hordern Pavilion
02/25/2026 — Brisbane, QLD @ Fortitude Music Hall
02/26/2026 — Brisbane, QLD @ Fortitude Music Hall
02/28/2026 — Fremantle, WA @ Fremantle Arts Centre
04/10/2026 — Indio, CA @ Coachella
04/17/2026 — Indio, CA @ Coachella
04/15/2026 — Las Vegas, NV @ The Theater at Virgin Hotels
04/19/2026 — Magna, UT @ The Great Saltair
04/21/2026 — Denver, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
04/23/2026 — Omaha, NE @ The Astro Amphitheater
04/24/2026 — Milwaukee, WI @ Miller High Life Theatre
04/25/2026 — Cincinnati, OH @ MegaCorp Pavilion
04/28/2026 — St. Louis, MO @ The Factory
04/29/2026 — Louisville, KY @ Iroquois Amphitheater
05/01/2026 — Franklin, TN @ FirstBank Amphitheater
05/02/2026 — Huntsville, AL @ The Orion Amphitheater
05/05/2026 — Tallahassee, FL @ The Moon
05/06/2026 — Tallahassee, FL @ The Moon
05/08/2026 — St. Augustine, FL @ St. Augustine Amphitheatre
05/09/2026 — Miami Beach, FL @ The Fillmore Miami Beach
05/11/2026 — New Orleans, LA @ Orpheum Theater
05/12/2026 — New Orleans, LA @ Orpheum Theater
05/14/2026 — Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
05/15/2026 — Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
05/16/2026 — Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
06/03/2026 — Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Sound Festival
06/07/2026 — Paris, France @ We Love Green Festival
06/09/2026 — Madrid, Spain @ Noches del Botánico Festival
06/11/2026 — Porto, Portugal @ Primavera Sound Festival
06/13/2026 — Luxembourg City, Luxembourg @ Den Atelier
06/14/2026 — Beekse Bergen, Netherlands @ Best Kept Secret Festival
06/16/2026 — Cologne, Germany @ Tanzbrunnen
06/19/2026 — Cardiff, UK @ Cardiff Castle
06/20/2026 — Halifax, UK @ The Piece Hall
06/23/2026 — Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy
06/27/2026 — Roskilde, Denmark @ Roskilde Festival
06/27/2026 — Dublin, Ireland @ Fairview Park
06/28/2026 — Edinburgh, Scotland @ Usher Hall
07/01/2026 — Hamburg, Germany @ Stadtpark
07/03/2026 — Gdynia, Poland @ Open’er Festival
07/05/2026 — Werchter, Belgium @ Rock Werchter