The Academic @ The Foundry
WRITTEN BY: Natalie Crane
PHOTOS BY: Erin Blewett
For the second stop on their tour, The Academic played at The Foundry this week. The Irish band consists of Craig Fitzgerald, Dean Gavin, brothers Matthew and Stephen Murtagh. Their sound strikes the perfect balance between sunshine guitar pop with alternative influences.
The Stolen, a group of young, New Jersey natives, opened the show. They kicked off the concert on a high note, bursting with energy. They were especially ecstatic to play their latest track, “Overboard,” released earlier this month.
The second act, Honeytiger, is a two-piece band of Isaac Clark (vocals and guitar) and Josh Glauser (drums). This Philadelphia duo has a cool blues-rock vibe.
The Academic was beyond excited to debut songs from their first full-length album, Tales from the Backseat, which was released last month. They opened their performance with the first song I heard from them, “Permanent Vacation.” This song caught my attention right away and sounded even more feel-good live.
Their performance of “Bite My Tongue” was nothing short of anthemic, making it one of my new favorite songs at the moment. The guys of The Academic are full of personality on stage. Lead singer Fitzgerald told a funny story about how he’s often mistaken as being under 21, which inspired the song “Fake ID.”
The band closed with fan favorite, “Bear Claws.” This track has over 2 million plays on Spotify and the audience was excited to scream along. Even though this was their closer, their energy on stage never faltered and they closed on a high note.
If you like bands like The Kooks, The Strokes, Circa Waves, and HUNNY (and even if you don’t) be sure to check out The Academic.
Set List:
- Permanent Vacation
- Bite My Tongue
- Mixtape 2003
- Why Can’t We Be Friends?
- Chasers
- I Thought I Told You
- Fake ID
- Girlfriend
- Sometimes
- Feel It Too
- Television
- Different
- Northern Boy
- Bear Claws
