Quickly rising Mullingar band 'The Academic' coming to Waterford

The Academic make their long awaited Waterford debut on Friday, October 10 when they play the Haven in Dunmore East. 

It’s part of a short Irish tour and comes on the back of a fantastic full-to-the-rafters gig at the 8,000 capacity Electric Arena at EP last weekend.

Composed of Craig Fitzgerald, Dean Gavin and Matthew and Stephen Murtagh, The Academic grew up just outside Mullingar, also home to musical titans such as Niall Horan, The Blizzards and Joe Dolan.

The quartet met in school, and immediately bonded.

Each shared their own unique musical influences and bonded over a shared enthusiasm for the early 2000s NYC rock revival lead by the likes of The Strokes, Interpol and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

The post punk sound of the time also made an indelible mark on the group's reasons for starting a band.

From the early days at local battle of the bands competitions and playing half-empty pubs on bingo night, the band now take to much larger stages across the globe.

The Academic have gone on to play sell-out shows and festivals across Ireland, the US, the UK and Europe, and have shared the stage with international headliners such as Twenty One Pilots, The Strokes and Catfish and the Bottleman.

Their debut album ‘Tales From The Backseat’, released in 2018, reached number one on the official Irish album chart.

In April 2023, they were among several local acts invited as guest performers for Joe Biden's stop in Ballina as part of his presidential trip in his ancestral land of County Mayo.

Tickets for the October 3 gig at The Haven Hotel are available at thehavenhotel.com