Few bands have aged as gracefully into their own restlessness as Thrice. Twelve albums deep, the Irvine post-hardcore lifers still write like they are chasing something just past the horizon — and on Thursday, June 18, they bring that pursuit to Empire Live in Albany, with Hey Mercedes and Held filling out a bill that doubles as an early-2000s emo and post-hardcore summit.
About Thrice
Thrice have been at this since 1998, and 2026 finds them in genuinely strong form. Their twelfth studio album, Horizons/West, landed on Epitaph on October 3, 2025 — a deliberate sequel to 2021’s Horizons/East, built by vocalist Dustin Kensrue and company around mirrored ideas carried over from that earlier record. Expect the live show to lean on it: the crunchy, math-tinged guitar work and dynamic shifts that have always defined this band translate beautifully to a room Empire Live’s size.
Hey Mercedes share the bill, and their timing could not be better. The Chicago emo outfit — formed from the ashes of Braid — saw Polyvinyl roll out a full vinyl reissue program for their entire catalog in March 2026, the kind of moment that pulls a band back onto the road with something to prove. Held opens the night. Three sets deep, this is a lineup worth showing up early for.
About Empire Live
Empire Live is Albany’s reliable mid-size room — a general-admission space on N. Pearl Street built so the floor stays close to the stage no matter where you plant yourself. It is the right scale for a band like Thrice, big enough to let the louder passages breathe and small enough that the quiet ones land. For more shows in the area, the Capital Region calendar stays busy all summer.
Worth noting: this Albany date is one of two June headlining stops Thrice carved out around their summer run supporting Jimmy Eat World, which hits Philadelphia and Boston later the same week. Headlining shows like this one give the band room to dig deeper into the catalog than a support slot ever would.
Tickets & Details
Doors are at 7:30 PM on Thursday, June 18, 2026. Get tickets here.