The news that The Maccabees are reforming to headline London’s All Points East festival this summer inspired a wave of excitement amongst fans and media alike. Strong ticket sales and widespread news and editorial coverage proved testament to the love still felt for a band who said an emotional, euphoric goodbye in 2017 while at the peak of their powers.
Now The Maccabees’ resurgence continues with the confirmation of a UK and Ireland tour which, alongside headlining All Points East in London, will see them perform in Dublin, Glasgow and Manchester this August. Tickets for all shows will go on sale HERE from 9am BST this Friday April 11th.
Pre-sale access to tickets will be available to fans who sign up https://Maccabees.lnk.to/UKIEPreSale from 9am BST Wednesday April 9th.
Guitarist Felix White says, “We can’t wait to be The Maccabees again! These shows will be really magical, playing the songs that form such a part of our collective lives, in the UK & Ireland in the lead up to All Points East Festival. It’s something we genuinely didn’t think would happen again and are really determined to make special now that it is. We’ll see you there.”
The dates are:
AUGUST
17th – Dublin Academy
20th – Glasgow Barrowlands
21st – Manchester O2 Victoria Warehouse
24th – London All Points East
The Maccabees’ farewell was so resolutely final that each member threw themselves with full commitment into countless new endeavours: music, art, books, film scores, production, broadcasting and so much more. No matter how many times the question was asked in the years after, each member felt the same thing. It was the end. But not all goodbyes are necessarily forever.
The first small turning point to their comeback can be charted back to guitarist and founding member Hugo White’s wedding in February 2020. He wanted to put together a covers band as part of the celebrations. Guest spots were divided out between an illustrious list of close friends and musical peers including Adele, Florence + The Machine and Jamie T. It was mooted that The Maccabees could maybe play ‘Pelican’ at the party to make it really special, but Hugo wasn’t entirely sure if singer Orlando Weeks would accept the invitation. They hadn’t all been together, on or off stage, since that last moment at Alexandra Palace. But Orlando grasped the opportunity: a moment in which he could honour his old friend rather than with any future in mind for the band.
That night was the first opportunity for them to tentatively inhabit the same space and made clear what was important to all of them – the luck of being able to share something that is so rare and unusual to find in most other places of life. There were no talks or plans for a reunion that day or for years after, but it was the catalyst for them to each rekindle their relationships gradually: five bandmates learning how to share a labyrinthian collective history outside the umbrella of The Maccabees. As the isolation of lockdown set in immediately after the wedding, the desire to reconnect - with their communal kinship - only grew.
And now The Maccabees are back: for friendship, for celebration, for community. Will there be more chapters in their future? Maybe, maybe not. For now, they’re happy to keep their minds open and see where these shows take them next.
About The Maccabees
The Maccabees - lead singer Orlando Weeks, guitarists (and brothers) Felix and Hugo White, bassist Rupert Jarvis and drummer Sam Doyle - debuted in 2005 and constantly evolved over the course of four critically adored studio albums, which took them from the fan favourite debut ‘Colour It In’ to their most acclaimed work and first #1 record, ‘Marks To Prove It’. Continued critical acclaim included a Mercury Prize nomination for their third album, ‘Given To The Wild’, and the prestigious Ivor Novello for Best Contemporary Song for ‘Pelican’ before winning Best British Band at the NME Awards in 2016. NME’s coverage of their final show concisely summarised their impact: “Ending The Maccabees now might feel like an abrupt act of robbery, but, as tonight’s flawless, staggering performances shows, the 14 years we’ve had them for will never be forgotten.”