Semisonic Return With First New Single In Three Years Don't Give Up Yet
Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Written by Jon Stickler
Photo: Tony Nelson
Semisonic have returned with their first new single in three years.
Don't Give Up Yet marks the Minneapolis band's first new music since their 2023 album 'Little Bit Of Sun', their first studio record in more than 20 years. It's also the first in a series of singles to be released by the trio over the next year and carries a message of hope, inspired by a friend of frontman Dan Wilson who was going through a difficult time. He explained:
"I started writing ‘Don’t Give Up Yet’ for a friend of mine who was going through a terrible chapter. I wanted to tell him he still had time and there still was hope. When I got to the second verse, I realized the song was about something else, too – the fight against the dark philosophy that has stormed our country, our institutions, our freedom, our peace. That’s when the line ‘A king on a throne, Tyrannicus Rex,’ suddenly arrived and my band had a very different song on our hands.
"My friends have asked me why it’s ‘Don’t Give Up YET,’ rather than simply ‘Don’t Give Up.’ I tell them that the ‘yet’ means this: ‘Keep trying - don’t lose heart - you’re so close! Keep your hopes alive, because you’re going to make things better in the end. As they say in baseball, it’s not over yet. So don’t give up yet.’ My wish is that someone who hears the song will take heart and remember that there is still time and that if they keep trying, they’re going to change the world."
The pop-rock group, best known for their 1998 singles Closing Time and Secret Smile, will kick off Minnesota Yacht Club Festival with a show at the Varsity Theater on July 16, joined by special guest Humbird. They'll then perform at the festival on July 19, alongside The Strokes, Cage The Elephant, Atmosphere and more. Tickets are on sale.
Wilson took home a Grammy and Country Music Award in 2024 for co-writing the track White Horse with country superstar Chris Stapleton. That same year, he also recieved his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for It Never Went Away with Jon Batiste.
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