Taking Back Sunday

Taking Back Sunday play Dublin on 20 May 2026 at The Academy. Formed in 1999 on Long Island, the band came up through the emo and post-hardcore scene with a sound built on taut guitars, melodic refrains and call-and-response vocals. Tell All Your Friends put them on the map in 2002; Where You Want to Be and Louder Now pushed the writing toward a more direct rock palette while keeping that early tension. After a few changes, the core of Adam Lazzara, John Nolan and Shaun Cooper reformed in 2010 and carried the group through New Again, the self-titled record, Happiness Is, Tidal Wave and 152.

On stage, those crossed vocals and tight dynamics stay central, shifting between pop-punk immediacy and broader alternative rock textures. Expect a set that moves through the catalogue’s contrasts: sharp bursts, open melodies and structures that balance impact and release. From early-2000s staples to the more expansive writing of 152, the night links the different eras of Taking Back Sunday while keeping the band’s fingerprint clear.