Chicago, IL · pop-punk · emo-pop

The Academy Is...

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

William Beckett and Adam Siska met at Barrington High School and started the band on March 4, 2003, bringing in guitarist Mike Carden after his previous group split up. An early lineup with AJ LaTrace and Michael DelPrincipe recorded the debut EP The Academy in Villa Park, Illinois, with producer Brian Zieske. A name change to The Academy Is... followed for legal reasons before Fueled by Ramen signed the group in 2004.

By the time of the debut album, Thomas Conrad and Andy Mrotek had replaced LaTrace and DelPrincipe. Almost Here was recorded in Florida with producer James Paul Wisner and released in February 2005, reaching the Billboard 200 and Heatseekers charts. Heavy touring alongside Fall Out Boy, Something Corporate, Motion City Soundtrack and Armor for Sleep, plus a first headlining run with Plain White T's, built the band's audience.

The band's wiry, hook-driven rock, carried by Beckett's theatrical phrasing and literate lyrics, ran through Santi in 2007 and Fast Times at Barrington High in 2008. Songs including "Slow Down" and "About a Girl" became the material most identified with the group during this run.

The Academy Is... went on hiatus in 2011, with Beckett continuing as a solo artist. The band reunited in 2022 and returned to recording, releasing Almost There in March 2026, its first album in eighteen years.

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pop-punkemo-pop