Tony Hawk joins Interpol on stage for special San Diego introduction

Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk appeared onstage in San Diego to introduce Interpol, promising that he would not “quit skating until Interpol stops touring”.

The appearance happened on Saturday night, August 15, as Interpol continued the American leg of their 2026 tour at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park. Before the group began its headline set, Hawk welcomed them to the stage and explained how he discovered their music more than 20 years ago.

“It is my honour and privilege to introduce you to this band,” Hawk told the crowd, revealing that he became a fan after they released their debut album ‘Turn On the Bright Lights’ in 2002.

Recalling his first time seeing Interpol perform, he continued: “I got to see them live for the first time doing a sound check at Jay Leno,” referring to their 2004 appearance on the American talk show. “I was a guest on Jay Leno with them [and] they actually had my ramp behind the sound stage… I watch them play ‘Slow Hands’. They watched me do slow hand plants.”

Hawk then reflected on the similarities between his journey and the band’s career. “I feel like we’ve had a similar trajectory this whole time. Neither one of us has quit doing what we love… I guess what I’m trying to say is, I’m not going to quit skating until Interpol stops touring.”

Interpol later uploaded a clip of Hawk’s introduction and wrote in the caption: “From Leno in 2004 to now, thanks for riding with us @tonyhawk ⚡️”.

Hawk also replied beneath the post, writing: “My wife said ‘slow handplants’ was lame but I say dad jokes are peak comedy.”

Interpol played another American concert in Las Vegas last night, Sunday, August 16. They will next travel to London for Deftones’ major Outbreak Fest concert on Sunday, August 23. The bill also features IDLES, Amyl & The Sniffers, Esdeekid, JPEGMAFIA, Basement, Wisp, Deafheaven, Show Me The Body and more.

Following that performance, Interpol will play an intimate afterparty concert in the British capital.

The indie group joined Partisan Records earlier this year and will also begin a joint UK and European arena tour with Bloc Party later this year. The schedule includes two performances at London’s Olympia on December 4 and 5. View the complete list of concerts here and purchase tickets here.

The upcoming shows arrive shortly before Interpol release their ninth album, ‘This Mirror Weighs A Ton’, on August 28 through Partisan Records. Preorders are available here.

The record has already been introduced through its Massive Attack influenced title song, ‘See Out Loud’ and ‘Iron City’. The latter explores the conflict between history and what lies ahead, a theme that appears throughout the album. Discussing the track with NME, frontman Paul Banks explained that it represents “a conversation between the human narrator and the future artificial intelligence that’s running things.”

When the same interview turned to whether he was afraid of AI, Banks replied: “No. AI replacing art can only base itself on what we’ve made, so without new stuff it will devolve into a simulacra and have no bearing on the human experience. We need to be feeding it new real stuff for it to be doing anything of real note.”

‘This Mirror Weighs A Ton’ will also contain ‘Wings On Fire’, which Interpol first performed live earlier this year. Banks described the song to NME as “a fun romp”.