AFI Announce Headline Show at Observatory Festival Grounds This September

AFI just dropped a brand new headline date and the bill is genuinely one of the best I've seen put together all year.

The band is heading to the Observatory Festival Grounds in Santa Ana, CA on Saturday, September 19 with special guests Mareux, Kumo 99, and L.A. Witch. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 25 at 10AM.

This one wasn't on anybody's radar. It's not part of a previously announced tour leg. It's a freshly dropped standalone headliner that fits perfectly between AFI's European run wrapping up August 30 in Cologne and their fall festival circuit, which includes Monster Energy Aftershock in Sacramento (October 1-4) and Sick New World in Fort Worth (October 24).

The Silver Bleeds the Black Sun Tour

AFI have been on the road hard in support of Silver Bleeds the Black Sun..., their twelfth studio album, which dropped in October 2025 via Run for Cover Records. I'll be real, this record is something special. Louder called it "their finest album in over a decade" and added "even by AFI's standards, this is none more goth." That tracks.

Guitarist and producer Jade Puget described the creative direction as starting from a place that "sounded like Echo & the Bunnymen" before evolving into "this melange of death rock and post-punk, all this stuff from the late '70s and early '80s that we grew up on, like Sisters of Mercy, and Bauhaus, and Siouxsie and the Banshees." If you've heard the record, you know he's not exaggerating. This is the most fully realized version of AFI's goth side, and watching them perform these songs in an outdoor setting is going to hit different.

The touring campaign kicked off with a 24-date fall 2025 North American run with TR/ST, followed by a spring 2026 leg with Choir Boy hitting Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Las Vegas, Boulder, and more through early May. Then it's off to the UK and Europe in August for dates in Manchester, London (All Points East), Birmingham, Glasgow, Bristol, Rock en Seine in France, and Cologne. September 19 in Santa Ana now fills the gap between Europe and the fall festival run.

The Support Bill Is Stacked

Honestly, whoever put this bill together understands the assignment. Every artist on the lineup shares a dark, post-punk adjacent DNA and each one brings something different to the table.

Mareux is the LA-based synth-pop and coldwave artist who's been steadily building a massive following. His cover of The Cure's The Perfect Girl blew up on TikTok in 2021 and landed him at Coachella 2023. His latest album Nonstop Romance dropped via Revolution / Warner Records, and the guy's live show is immersive. Here's the thing that makes this pairing feel intentional: Mareux has cited TR/ST's debut album as the inspiration that kicked off his entire career. TR/ST opened for AFI on that fall 2025 tour. The line between these artists is a straight one.

Kumo 99 is the duo of Ami Komai and Nate Donmoyer, and they're one of the most exciting acts coming out of LA right now. Their latest album PULL! dropped in February 2026 and it's this wild collision of jungle breaks, drum and bass, and punk energy. Komai sings in Japanese, and the thing that blows my mind is fans who don't speak a word of it are showing up knowing every word. They've played Sound and Fury and opened for Magdalena Bay. If you haven't seen them yet, this is your chance.

L.A. Witch round out the bill and they're the perfect fit. The trio of Sade Sanchez, Irita Pai, and Ellie English deal in this dark psychedelia that pulls from surf, garage, and post-punk. Their latest record DOGGOD (out via Suicide Squeeze Records) leans harder into new-wave and horror-inspired territory. Someone described them as a love child between The Doors and The B-52's and I can't think of a better way to put it. They'll be wrapping up a headlining North American tour in late June, so this September show keeps them active in their home region.

The Venue

The Observatory Festival Grounds is the outdoor lot adjacent to the main Observatory venue complex on South Harbor Boulevard in Santa Ana. It's the same space that hosts larger format outdoor events. If you've been to anything out there, you know it's a solid spot for a show like this. An outdoor AFI set on a Saturday night in September with this lineup? That's going to be a moment.

Get Your Tickets

Tickets go on sale Friday, April 25 at 10AM. With a bill this good and a venue this size, I wouldn't wait around. AFI headlining an outdoor show in Orange County with Mareux, Kumo 99, and L.A. Witch is the kind of show people are going to be talking about for a while. Keep an eye on Ticketmaster Friday morning and don't sleep on it.

Cover photo courtesy of Ticketmaster