{"id":2421618,"date":"2026-05-18T11:10:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T11:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2421618"},"modified":"2026-05-18T11:10:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T11:10:45","slug":"after-40-years-the-afghan-whigs-still-sound-like-no-one-else-and-theyre-not-done-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/after-40-years-the-afghan-whigs-still-sound-like-no-one-else-and-theyre-not-done-yet\/","title":{"rendered":"After 40 years, the Afghan Whigs still sound like no one else \u2014 and they\u2019re not done yet"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For fans of the Afghan Whigs, the first half of 2026 has been a glorious time. The beloved Cincinnati-born band is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a tour spanning its entire career, including two new singles the band released earlier this year.<\/p>\n
The tour wraps up in Southern California this week with a string of shows \u2014 the Bellwether on Wednesday, the Observatory in Santa Ana on Friday and Pappy & Harriet\u2019s in the desert Sunday.<\/p>\n
If ever there was a band that deserved this celebratory victory lap, it is the Whigs. Having started with iconic label Sub Pop, then becoming alternative heroes in the \u201890s with an insane sting of albums, including the cult classic \u201cGentlemen,\u201d as well as \u201cBlack Love\u201d and \u201c1965,\u201d the group broke up before reuniting for good in 2011 for an equally impressive second act.<\/p>\n
The Times spoke with frontman Greg Dulli about keeping the band together for four decades, Muhammad Ali, how the Cincinnati Reds inspired his desire to come to L.A., \u201890s nostalgia and more. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.<\/i><\/p>\n
It\u2019s <\/b>rare for artists to get to look back. I know this happened during COVID, when artists finally had time to do so. But once in a while, it\u2019s fun to just appreciate everything you\u2019ve accomplished. So how much fun are you having on this tour?<\/b><\/p>\n
Yes, the first couple of shows we played we came out with eight songs off eight different albums and that was really fun to do. That we have that many different records and still want to play those songs, it\u2019s a gift.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s funny when you go back to them too, of course you and I have talked about this so many times over the years, your relationship with the songs changes. Are there ones right now that you\u2019re really appreciating in a different way, or you realize how often songs start out to be prophetic?<\/b><\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know about prophetic, but I will say that playing songs from 1990 and 1992 and \u201993 and still getting off on them, it\u2019s a great feeling. And watching people still getting off on them and respond, it\u2019s a great feeling. We\u2019re playing both eras, it\u2019s basically half and half. But mixing them up and it\u2019s still a cohesive piece; it\u2019s amazing to be a part of.<\/p>\n
You say you\u2019re playing from both eras; do they feel different to you at this point or is it something where they feel part of the same journey?<\/b><\/p>\n
Yeah, it\u2019s a journey and I consider the Twilight Singers and the Gutter Twins part of that journey. The music that I did in the interim between the two eras of the Whigs is equally important to where I am today, if I would have just hung it up for 12 or 13 years, I don\u2019t think this would have the same resonance. But I stayed sharp and I stayed touring and I stayed hungry to put on good shows, so that is just the continuing evolution of my love for rock and roll.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve talked to so many artists about this and when you have a break that is not forced it allows you to rediscover your love for whatever you were doing before. <\/b>Do you feel like <\/b> now that you look back at it, <\/b>that time<\/b> was so pivotal to the Whigs coming back because<\/b> it gave you space to breathe and appreciate everything you had done with it?<\/b><\/p>\n
It did, and it was great. When we finished the reunion tour, that was it. We had no plans to continue and then we got the Usher call and that\u2019s when we went and played with him in Austin [at SXSW]. John [Curley] and I had dinner that night and we\u2019re like, \u201cHey, maybe we could make another Whigs record.\u201d Because that was the only way we were going to continue to do shows too, if we had new music. We had no interest in being a legacy act or whatever they call people who don\u2019t make records anymore and tour behind what they used to do. And by the way, if that\u2019s cool with you, then that\u2019s cool. It just would not work for me. So our ability and the people who listen to our music continuing on and digging into what we started doing, now, 12 years ago, it\u2019s a cool place to be. And being able to go out and play a show that is nine of the 10 albums, is pretty fantastic.<\/p>\n
My friend was at the show in Denver, and I know you\u2019ve been playing new songs. <\/b><\/p>\n
We\u2019ve released two singles, \u201cHouse of I\u201d and \u201cDuvateen,\u201d and we\u2019re playing them in the show. So we play two new songs every night.<\/p>\n
There was this whole \u201890s nostalgia going around because in hindsight the \u201890s right now seems like a much simpler time.<\/b><\/p>\n
Think about it. When we were kids, nostalgia happened in the \u201970s: \u201cAmerican Graffiti,\u201d \u201cHappy Days,\u201d \u201cLaverne & Shirley,\u201d all that stuff. That was their simpler time, there\u2019s always a simpler time and people will always look back and long for something that\u2019s not there. And cool, just as long as you visit and don\u2019t stay there.<\/p>\n