The Afghan Whigs

The Afghan Whigs play O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, on 24 September 2026. Formed in Cincinnati in 1986 by singer-guitarist Greg Dulli and bassist John Curley, the band staked out its place in American indie rock by folding soul and R&B impulses into a taut, guitar-led sound. After a self-released debut (Big Top Halloween, 1988), they joined Sub Pop for Up in It (1990) and Congregation (1992), rising alongside the grunge wave while favoring groove and narrative focus. Gentlemen (1993) and Black Love (1996) deepened their themes of desire, guilt and tangled relationships, followed by 1965 (1998) and a break in the early 2000s.

Reformed in the 2010s, the Whigs kept the thread with Do to the Beast (2014), In Spades (2017) and How Do You Burn? (2022). On stage, they move across eras with a mix of sharp riffs, slow-burn rhythms and Dulli’s unmistakable grain, setting late-night soul hues against darker rock turns. Expect a set that folds recent tracks into long-standing staples, letting the current lineup recast older songs while holding onto the band’s lean, storytelling pulse.