Empire Live puts you close to the stage. That is the first thing you notice about the standing-room venue at 93 N. Pearl Street in downtown Albany — the 1,000-capacity room keeps you in the sound even when it fills up. For a co-headline built around atmospheric guitar music, that is exactly what you want.
On Tuesday, May 5, julie and Fleshwater are splitting the top of the bill, with Midrift opening. Doors at 7:00 PM.
About julie
The Orange County trio has spent the past couple of years becoming one of the more talked-about names in the shoegaze revival. Their debut full-length, my anti-aircraft friend (Atlantic Records, September 2024), landed on Pitchfork’s Best Rock Albums of 2024, NME’s 20 Best Debut Albums of 2024, and Rolling Stone’s Best Indie Rock Albums of 2024. Their 2020 single “flutter” had already accumulated 36 million Spotify streams before the album dropped — a head start that made the full-length feel like something people had been waiting on. They played Coachella in April. This spring tour is the follow-through.
Keyan Pourzand and bandmates started playing together in high school and built the project into something they describe as an art collective as much as a band. Their sound reflects it: layered and deliberate, built to shift under you right when you stop expecting it to.
Fleshwater and the Full Bill
Co-headlining is Fleshwater, the Massachusetts group built around members of Vein.fm. Their 2025 album 2000: In Search of the Endless Sky (Closed Casket Activities) was among the year’s more acclaimed rock releases — post-hardcore energy framed in atmospheric haze. They also played Coachella this spring, twice.
Opening the night is Midrift, a San Francisco shoegaze trio who announced their debut album Silhouette in April 2026. Three bands worth showing up early for.
Albany is stop 12 of 16 on this run, which closes May 10 in Richmond. You are catching them near the end of a full stretch of dates.
Venue & Tickets
Empire Live is at 93 N. Pearl Street in the Albany / Capital District region. Standing room, 1,000 capacity. Doors at 7:00 PM.