The Academic — The Metro Gallery in Baltimore, MD — May 13, 2023

Ireland’s best and brightest The Academic took on Baltimore, Maryland for the first time ever at the Metro Gallery, this charming, Irish indie-rock band consists of Craig Fitzgerald (vocalist/guitarist), Dean Gavin (drummer), and brothers Stephen Murtagh (bass) and Matthew Murtagh (guitar).

First song of the night took the crowd back in time just a tad bit, performing their notable song “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” from their grand record, Tales from the Backseat released in 2018– the room fluttered with heaps of warm smiles and joy. Scaling up two years, the band dove back into their 2020 EP, Acting My Age and rose back to the surface with “Anything Could Happen” (a personal favorite of mine), Experimenting with time travel once more, their honored single “Mixtape 2003” (debuted in 2016) made its way to the setlist that night and was a real crowd pleaser as the entire room was grooving from start to finish.

Eagerly waited, fans were finally met with hits from the band’s newest and sophomore album, Sitting Pretty premiering songs :Pushing Up Daisies,” “Don’t Take It Personally,” “My Very Best” and many more– The Academic did more than win over the hearts that filled the venue that night, they left a beautiful mark on Baltimore as well; and the city awaits their return.

Words & Photography: Isaiah Pate