Whitney Announce Headline Show for The Academy, Dublin
By Plus Special Guests
Saturday, 21st February 2026
The Academy, Dublin
Doors 7pm | 18+
Tickets on sale Wednesday, 17th September 2025 at 10am.
Folk rock/Americana group Whitney return with a new single + video “Back To The Wind” and announce a headline Academy, Dublin show for Saturday, 21st February 2026 as part of their EU/UK 2026 tour.
Their new album Small Talk is out November 7th via AWAL.
Tickets from €27.50 (inc booking fee & venue facility fee)
from Ticketmaster.ie on sale Wednesday, 17th September 2025.
Bookings subject to 12.5% service charge per ticket (max €10.50)
After a decade of being roommates and bandmates, first in Smith Westerns and then in Whitney, Julien Ehrlich and Max Kakacek entered the studio in the Summer of 2024 to begin recording Small Talk sans-producer, with assorted pals dropping in to add parts. The result is 11 incandescent songs that delight on two levels. There are instant classic Whitney songs here, tunes that tug at the same heartfelt melodic strings they’ve always pulled, and still other moments that speak to how much room they gave themselves to evolve.
Whitney was formed in Chicago in 2015 by former Smith Westerns guitarist Max Kakacek and Unknown Mortal Orchestra drummer Julien Ehrlich. Known for their warm, soulful sound and introspective songwriting, Whitney quickly gained acclaim with their debut album, Light Upon the Lake (2016), which featured the standout single “No Woman.” The record established the band as a critical and fan favourite, with Pitchfork giving it it’s Best New Music distinction (8.3) and saying, “you’ll find the songs to be near flawless. Low-key perfectionism is perhaps a humbler virtue than seeking the big, dynamic splash. But it has a way of sneaking in past our defences and lingering longer—before we know, we’ve been singing under our breath for the better part of a year.”
Following their breakthrough, Whitney released Forever Turned Around (2019), further cementing their reputation for heartfelt, meticulously crafted music. They continued to evolve their sound with Candid (2020), an album of reimagined covers, and Spark (2022), which introduced a bolder, more expansive sonic palette. With sold-out tours across North America and Europe and performances at major festivals like Coachella and Pitchfork, Whitney has built a devoted following and continues to push the boundaries of modern indie music.