Pavement kicked off their 2026 US tour with a loose, improvised cover of Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway To Heaven' during a set in Oakland, California. The performance took place on 17 July at the official pre-party for the Mosswood Meltdown festival, marking the band's first live appearance since a show in Mexico City the previous November.

The three-minute rendition came midway through the set, following a performance of 'Harness Your Hopes', with frontman Stephen Malkmus largely abandoning the original lyrics in favour of improvised words as he and Scott Kannberg loosely worked through the track. The Oakland show, hosted by filmmaker John Waters and also featuring Wednesday and Vivian Girls, opened a run of US tour dates that continues through late July, taking in cities including Portland, Seattle, Chicago and Nashville, ahead of the main Mosswood Meltdown festival headlined by Iggy Pop and Bikini Kill.