The Afghan Whigs mark 40 years with a spring 2026 House of Blues Cleveland show
A Cleveland stop on a 20-date North American anniversary run
The Afghan Whigs have scheduled a Cleveland concert as part of a spring 2026 tour marking 40 years since the band’s formation in 1986. The Cleveland date is set for May 5, 2026, at House of Blues Cleveland.
The anniversary itinerary spans 20 headline dates across North America, beginning April 25, 2026, in Woodstock, New York, and concluding May 24, 2026, in Pioneertown, California. The routing includes regional stops that bracket Northeast Ohio, including Pittsburgh on May 2 and Cincinnati on May 6.
Support act and what the tour is celebrating
Mercury Rev is set to support the full run. The pairing places two long-running alternative-rock acts on the same bill during a concentrated, month-long theater circuit.
For The Afghan Whigs, the tour is explicitly framed as a 40th anniversary celebration tied to the group’s origins in Cincinnati. The band previously disbanded in 2001 and later reunited in 2012, resuming touring and releasing new studio albums in the 2010s and 2020s.
Ticket timing and what Cleveland fans should know
Ticket sales for the tour are scheduled to start with a fan presale on January 21, 2026, at 10 a.m. local time, followed by an on-sale to the general public on January 23, 2026, at 10 a.m. local time. The band has also indicated that VIP packages will be available, with details tied to the individual ticket listings.
Date: May 5, 2026
Venue: House of Blues Cleveland
Tour support: Mercury Rev
Presale: January 21, 2026 (10 a.m. local time)
General on-sale: January 23, 2026 (10 a.m. local time)
New music plans in 2026
The tour announcement arrives alongside confirmation that The Afghan Whigs are planning to release a new record in 2026. The band has also recently released two tracks, “Fake Like” and “Downtown,” ahead of the anniversary year.
“40 years later, I still get to do the thing I love the most. Writing songs and performing them with my friends all over the world. I truly have to pinch myself.” — Greg Dulli
Where the Cleveland show fits in the schedule
The Cleveland performance lands in the middle of the tour’s Midwest stretch, between the band’s May 2 stop in Pittsburgh and the May 6 hometown-area date in Cincinnati. After Cleveland and Cincinnati, the routing continues through Milwaukee, Chicago and Minneapolis before moving west to Denver, the Pacific Northwest and California.