AFI

AFI play O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London on 20 August 2026, tracing their path from Bay Area punk roots to darker, more expansive songwriting. Formed in the early 90s, the quartet cut their teeth on hardcore tempos and gang vocals, then embraced shadowed melodies and layered choral parts. On stage, Davey Havok’s sharp delivery, Adam Carson’s exacting pulse, and the interplay between Jade Puget’s guitar and Hunter Burgan’s bass drive songs that swing between urgency and atmosphere.

The set moves from the raw burst of Answer That and Stay Fashionable and Very Proud of Ya through the stormier Black Sails in the Sunset and The Art of Drowning era, then into the widescreen contours of Sing the Sorrow and the sleeker lines of Decemberunderground. Later chapters — The Blood Album and Bodies — bring new wave hues and a more synthetic edge without abandoning the band’s core guitar-bass-drums bite. AFI live leans on collective hooks, call-and-response refrains and tight shifts in dynamics, balancing adrenaline with a moody undertow.