The Academy Is… Live in Buffalo: Welcoming, Nostalgic & 20 Years of “Almost Here”

Photos:  Kim Hernandez

There’s no “almost” about it. The Academy Is…here, there, and everywhere, including the Town Ballroom in Buffalo, New York. They played to a crowd of 1,000 on April 10, 2026, to kick off the second half of their Almost Here 20th anniversary tour. 

As the first show since TAI released their fourth album - and first in 18 years, the crowd was abuzz with nostalgia to hear songs old and new from an early 2000s scene staple. The crowd was pumped and ready to see the four-piece, with William Beckett (vocals), Mike Carden (guitar), Adam “Sisky” Siska (bass), and Andy “The Butcher” Mrotek (drums), with fans, including some of the online fan club, CampTAI, chatting before the show kicked off. 

The set kicked off with the first song off their debut album, “Attention,” commanding just that from the audience. Unlike many anniversary play-through tours, TAI doesn’t subscribe to the “play the album front to back” mentality, sprinkling in hits including “About A Girl” (Fast Times at Barrington High), “Miracle” (Almost There) and “Sleeping With Giants (Lifetime)” (Santi) breaking up the Almost Here set, while still playing the 10-track album in its entirety. 

Beckett has a softer demeanor off stage, but you would never know that with his on-stage, high-energy rockstar presence, running around the stage and throwing (and catching!) the occasional mic stand. Diehards will know he used to never leave the house without a bandana around his knee, and he paid homage to that with a bandana making its debut on the mic stand. With micstand tosses and banter with the band and crowd, he keeps the audience energized throughout the 21-song set. 

The crowd may have been more tame than what you would see for other artists, but that does not mean the crowd was uninterested. The fans were welcoming and excited for the return of TAI, who doesn’t show any signs of slowing down in the near future. 

After ending the main set with “Almost Here”, the title track and closing song of their debut album, they came back for a four-song encore, including the live debut of “L Train,” a song from Almost There. They ended the night with fan-favorite, “After The Last Midtown Show” off their Fast Times at Barrington High album. 

The Academy Is…on a roll. The Academy Is…coming to a city near you. The Academy Is…BACK. 

SCENE SNAPS

The Academy Is... Tour SETLIST (from setlist.fm)

• Attention

• Season

• Slow Down

• The Phrase That Pays

• Black Mamba

• About a Girl

• Miracle

• Sleeping With Giants (Lifetime)

• Skeptics and True Believers

• Classifieds

• Neighbors

• Seed

• 2005

• Rumored Nights

• Checkmarks

• Down and Out

• Almost Here

  
  

ENCORE

• Floating Through Time (Interlude)

• L Train (live debut)

• LAX to O’Hare

• After the Last Midtown Show

TOP8’s Take?

There is a reason The Academy Is… are scene darlings with the excitement we’ve seen on this tour. With fans old and new - many who weren’t even alive when Almost Here was first released - it’s easy to see their staying power, even after a long break. Now with four albums to pull from, they have amassed a discography long enough for two full sets if they wanted. With the feel-good vibes the majority of their songs have, including relatable lyrics like "The writers weren’t kidding about how all good things must end,” for the last 20 years, it’s been easy for fans to adopt that mindset. The band shows no signs of slowing down, so maybe, “...the good things [won’t have to] live in our hearts.” The TAI fans have made it clear. As long as the band sticks around, so will they.