Empire Underground is the kind of room where a 500-capacity crowd feels like a personal encounter — which is exactly the right setting for Holywatr’s Deo Gratias Tour, landing in Albany on Tuesday, October 27 at 8:00 PM.
Holywatr started as a solo project in 2020 before growing into a full band, and that origin story is all over their music — there is a rawness to it, a personal urgency. Their sound lands in the overlap of alternative metal, emo, and metalcore, with a classic 2000s metal backbone that somehow still feels fresh in 2026. Melodic Magazine called them “one of the most exciting acts in the genre,” and based on their trajectory, it is hard to argue.
The Deo Gratias album — their third full-length, following Red Heifer and Psalms — is where the band steps into something bigger. Religious themes run throughout: faith, doubt, vulnerability, loss. Guitarist Chandler Martin’s work gives the record its atmosphere; tracks like “Pure Leaf,” “Writing Goodbyes,” and “Prove Me Wrong” are the ones that stick. They spent the first half of 2026 on direct support for Architects’ Broken Mirror Tour and are now headlining their own 27-city run — with Boston two nights before Albany and Washington DC four nights after.
That context matters. This is a band on the rise, mid-tour, playing a room they are going to fill. Empire Underground at 93 N Pearl St holds 500 people, which is exactly the right size to feel that kind of momentum up close. Albany does not get this caliber of touring show every week.
Tickets & Pricing
VIP packages are available and include an acoustic performance, a Q&A with the band, and a photo opportunity — if you want to be in the room before general doors open, that is the move. Standard advance tickets are $25. Grab them at the link below before the day-of price kicks in.
Get Tickets — Holywatr at Empire Underground