Empire Underground sits below street level on North Pearl Street — a basement room that holds 350 people and has a way of making everything feel closer than it should. On Saturday, May 16, Sparks the Rescue takes that stage at 8:00 PM for one stop on their Spring 2026 Northeast Tour, with Signal the Escape opening. Tickets are on sale now.
About Sparks the Rescue
Sparks the Rescue has been a fixture in the pop-rock and post-hardcore world since forming in Maine in 2005. These are not the kind of guys who blew up overnight — they built it the old-fashioned way: a full run on Vans Warped Tour, a pair of Fearless Records albums (Eyes to the Sun in 2009, The Worst Thing I’ve Been Cursed With in 2011), and enough road time with All Time Low and Hawthorne Heights to know how a room should sound.
The MTV placements came. The MTV/Garnier Battle of the Bands win came. Then a quieter stretch. Then, in 2025, a 20th anniversary show at Portland’s State Theatre that apparently reminded everyone — including the band — why this works. Now they’re back, northeast dates locked, new music on the way.
“We’re so thrilled to become more active this year and start touring in the northeast. After some sparse activity over the last few years, it’s become more apparent than ever that we love spending time with each other and playing music together.”
About the Venue
Empire Underground is part of the Empire Live complex in downtown Albany — basement level, 350-person capacity, the kind of intimate setup where there is no bad spot in the room. For a Sparks the Rescue-sized show, this is exactly the right room.
Tickets & Show Details
Tickets are on sale now. Show starts at 8:00 PM — Signal the Escape opens, so plan to get there early.