The beloved indie group -- who just launched the second leg of their 'Only God Was Above Us Tour' -- announced that, due to overwhelming demand, they are playing four concerts at lead singer Ezra Koenig's hometown-adjacent Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ.
These highly-anticipated concerts are set to take place Monday, Sept. 15, Tuesday, Sept. 16, Wednesday, Sept. 17 and Thursday, Sept. 18 at the intimate venue, which can only fit 2,137 audience members.
As an added dose of nostalgia, Koenig's high school band, The Sophisticuffs, will open all four shows.
"Sophisticuffs was a Glen Ridge, NJ band active from roughly 1999-2002," the band shared via Instagram.
"Ezra was a member ages 15-17 along with his good friends Wes, Steve, Dan and Andrei. They played the vast majority of their shows in Montclair, usually at Serendipity (in the Congregational Church) or at the Possible Side Effects improv events under the Clairidge Theater. They dabbled in surf, post-rock, Christmas, punk and pop music. Ezra is thrilled to reunite onstage with the band for the first time since high school. You can expect to hear [their] songs like 'Chicken Dance,' 'Hello Professor,' and 'Great Expectations.'"
While it's likely Sophisticuffs will stick to a fairly strict set list, we'd expect anything but for Vampire Weekend. At their most recent shows, they've been mixing things up and ending their sets with all-over-the-map encores where they play a number of covers requested by the audience, as reported by Set List FM.
If this sounds like the freewheeling show for you, tickets are available for all four homecoming Vampire Weekend New Jersey concerts as of today.
At the time of publication, the lowest price we could find on seats for any one Wellmont Theater show was $83 including fees on Vivid Seats.
Their other three shows have tickets starting anywhere from $111 to $132 including fees.
Not bad to see Vampire Weekend and The Sophisticuffs up close and personal in a much smaller venue than they typically play.
For more information, our team has everything you need to know and more about Vampire Weekend's four concerts at Montclair, NJ's Wellmont Theater below.
All prices listed above are subject to fluctuation.
A complete calendar including all four Vampire Weekend Wellmont Theater concert dates, start times and links to the cheapest tickets available can be found here:
When they're not in the Garden State, here's where you can find Vampire Weekend on the road these next few months.
In addition to the tour (and mini Jersey residency), Vampire Weekend has six North American festival headlining spots lined up this year.
To find which one suits your taste best, we found everything you need to know about each multi-day music extravaganza on their itinerary.
In October 2024, Vampire Weekend headlined two shows -- including one matinee -- at NYC's Madison Square Garden. Here's what they played at their second gig (including a shocking number of off-the-wall covers as mentioned above) according to Set List FM.
Note: Based on our findings, the band mixed up what they played most nights. For a fuller look at what made the set list at other gigs, check out their complete concert history here.
On April 5, 2024, Vampire Weekend released their fifth studio album "Only God Was Above Us."
In the very off chance you haven't listened yet, the guys still have the goods. The precise yet ramshackle opener "Ice Cream Piano" is a slice of piano pop heaven with pounding percussions, swirling strings and washed out guitar mixed in over Koenig’s lush vocals.
From there, the goofy “Classical” finds one groove, settles into another and becomes something entirely different. Oftentimes, “OGWAU” is so inspired that it struggles to sit with one melody or idea for too long; this isn’t a knock on the group though. The band’s restlessness keeps the listener on their toes in the best way.
“Capricorn,” the third track, oscillates between twinkly piano ballad and noise rock; Koenig’s soft, unassuming lyrics (“I know you’re tired of trying baby, you don’t have to try” is a standout) glide over lush keys until the tune hurtles into overdrive two minutes in with discordant noise-rock before bringing it back to basics.
For the remainder of the brief 47-minute runtime, Vampire Weekend continue to surprise and innovate. “Connect” marries DIY banging on drums with synthetic autotune; “Prep School Gangsters” takes a page out of The Beach Boys’ laid-band, seaside playbook. Although each song features the same ingredients (and all sound unmistakably Vampire Weekend-ian) the end result is unique each time.
In the back half, “The Surfer” goes a more lo-fi airy route than the five tunes that preceded it yet still features majestic swirls. “Gen-X Cops” transitions from an out and out garage rock anthem into something a bit more precious -- a hard driving, head-bopping indie anthem. Best of all though, might be the melancholy, triumphant, choir-backed “Mary Boone.” It fits squarely into this critic’s favorite genre: the heartbreaking, singalong anthem that gives you goosebumps every time you hear it.
Closing us out is the charming thumper “Pravda” (which just might be the most perfect “making dinner” song to ever exist) and “Hope,” an eight-minute epic with the refrain “I Hope You Let It Go.”
To hear the elegant, brainy album for yourself, you can find "Only God Was Above Us" here.
Prefer a visual experience?
Many bands that broke ground at the height of the blog era will be hoofing it once again this year.
This article was written by Matt Levy, New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements from your favorite musical artists and comedians as well as Broadway openings sporting events and more live shows - and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022 Levy has reviewed a Bruce Springsteen concert and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame to name a few. Please note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change