Forty years in and The Afghan Whigs are still writing songs that hit like a gut punch. The Cincinnati rock veterans have released “Duvateen” via Royal Cream/BMG, a piano-driven track that finds Greg Dulli staring down mortality with the kind of unflinching clarity that’s defined the band since 1986. The title references the light-manipulating fabric used on film sets, deployed here as a metaphor for the darkness that frames every life.
Dulli doesn’t pull punches about what the song means to him. “When I finished ‘Duvateen,’ it felt like my life passing before my eyes,” he says. “I’m at a precipice in life where I can look behind and clearly see the forest of my youth, but I can also see the path to the other side. And it’s going to inform what I do for the rest of my days.” It’s the kind of songwriting that reminds you why the Whigs have never sounded like anyone else.
“Duvateen” follows “House of I,” their first new music since 2022, which drew praise from Rolling Stone, SPIN, and Pitchfork. Both singles point toward a new album arriving later this year. Details are coming soon.
The 40th Anniversary North American Tour launches this weekend with Mercury Rev along for the ride as special guests. Twenty-one dates stretch from Woodstock, NY to Pioneertown, CA, covering the coasts and everything in between. UK dates follow in September.
“40 years later, I still get to do the thing I love the most,” Dulli says. “Writing songs and performing them with my friends all over the world. I truly have to pinch myself.”
Tickets and info at linktr.ee/theafghanwhigs.
The Afghan Whigs & Mercury Rev Tour Dates:
April 25, Bearsville Theater, Woodstock, NY
April 27, Royale, Boston, MA
April 28, 9:30 Club, Washington D.C.
April 30, Webster Hall, New York, NY
May 1, Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA
May 2, Mr. Smalls Theater, Pittsburgh, PA
May 4, Town Ballroom, Buffalo, NY
May 5, House of Blues, Cleveland, OH
May 6, Bogart’s, Cincinnati, OH
May 8, Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee, WI
May 9, Metro, Chicago, IL
May 10, Varsity Theater, Minneapolis, MN
May 12, Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO
May 15, Aladdin Theatre, Portland, OR
May 16, Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC
May 17, The Showbox, Seattle, WA
May 19, The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
May 20, The Bellwether, Los Angeles, CA
May 22, The Observatory, Santa Ana, CA
May 23, The Observatory North Park, San Diego, CA
May 24, Pappy & Harriet’s, Pioneertown, CA
UK Dates:
September 19, Stylus, Leeds, UK
September 20, The Palais, Nottingham, UK
September 22, SWG3 Galvanizers, Glasgow, UK
September 23, O2 Ritz, Manchester, UK
September 24, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, UK
September 26, Chalk, Brighton, UK