Chicago, IL · pop-punk · emo-pop

The Academy Is...

1 upcoming festival

William Beckett's Chicago pop-punk — swaggering, scarf-wearing, and sharper than the scene remembers, 'About a Girl' still gleaming.

The Academy Is... formed in Chicago in the early 2000s around singer William Beckett and guitarist Mike Carden, and became part of the wave of Midwestern bands signed to Fueled by Ramen during the decade's emo and pop-punk boom. Their sound leaned more toward wiry, hook-driven rock than hardcore-derived aggression, with Beckett's theatrical phrasing and literate lyrics as the main identifying feature. Songs including "Slow Down" and "About a Girl" carried the band through heavy touring and an audience built largely on the era's package tours. The group went on hiatus at the start of the 2010s, with Beckett continuing as a solo artist, before later reuniting for shows.

pop-punkemo-pop