Citizen Announce Halcyon Blues Album and Massive World Tour With Anxious and Hotline TNT

Citizen just made today a very good day. The band announced their sixth studio album, Halcyon Blues, due out August 7 via Run For Cover Records, along with a seven-month world tour that includes a stop at the Hollywood Palladium on September 17. And the support lineup? Anxious, Hotline TNT, Rocket, and Cryogeyser. I'll be real, that's one of the best packages I've seen all year.

The album announcement came alongside the lead single "Highs And Lows", which dropped today with a music video directed by Josh Pfaff. It's being described as infectious and dark in equal measure, and honestly, that tracks perfectly for where this band has been heading.

The Hollywood Palladium Show

Let's talk about the LA date because this is the one you need to have circled. Citizen at the Hollywood Palladium on September 17 with Anxious, Hotline TNT, Rocket, and Cryogeyser is the kind of bill that doesn't come around often. Every single act on this lineup is delivering right now. If you're in Southern California and you care about this corner of music at all, this is your night.

The Palladium is such a perfect room for this band too. Big enough to feel like an event, intimate enough that you're still in it. Citizen have been selling out rooms across the country for years now, so don't expect this one to sit around.

Tickets go on sale Friday, May 1 at 10 AM local time. Grab them through Ticketmaster.

About the Album

Halcyon Blues is the follow-up to 2023's Calling The Dogs and it's their sixth studio album. Vocalist Mat Kerekes recorded the whole thing himself at his home studio in Toledo, and it was mixed by Tom Lorde-Alge. If that name rings a bell, it should. He's the guy who mixed Enema of the State, All Killer No Filler, and Ocean Avenue. So yeah, the record is in very good hands.

Kerekes says the album is about unexpected change. "You think you know everything, you think you have everything figured out, and then all of the sudden you don't. Everything's different, for better and for worse. Sometimes it's really hard but ultimately it might be for the best." That kind of honesty is what has always set Citizen apart.

The band has moved through raw emo, post-hardcore, anthemic alternative, and garage-y indie pop over the course of five previous records, and Halcyon Blues reportedly pulls from all of it. Guitarist Nick Hamm put it well: "A lot of bands try to do anything they can to be the hottest thing of the moment and we've just never operated like that. We don't think in moments, or months, or record cycles." That long-game mentality has clearly paid off. Seventeen years in and they're booking rooms like the Palladium and Brooklyn Steel.

The Tracklist

Halcyon Blues clocks in at 11 tracks:

1. "Good Fortune"
2. "I Can See You From Here"
3. "Halcyon Blues"
4. "Is It In My Brain"
5. "Always The Last One To Leave"
6. "Either Way"
7. "Matador"
8. "Ether"
9. "Smooth Talker"
10. "Highs And Lows"
11. "Anne"

Standouts to watch for include "Always The Last One To Leave", which is apparently one of the most sweeping ballads the band has ever written, and closer "Anne", described as cinematic. The lead single "Highs And Lows" features propulsive drums, a towering chorus, and synth strings. Go listen to it right now if you haven't already.

Full Tour Dates

The tour runs from summer 2026 all the way into early 2027. Here's the full run.

Festival Dates:

05/16 – Columbus, OH @ Historic Crew Stadium (Sonic Temple)
06/14 – Washington, DC @ Warped Tour
06/25 – Long Beach, CA @ Warped Tour

North American Headline Tour (w/ Anxious, Hotline TNT, Rocket, Cryogeyser):

08/18 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
08/19 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
08/21 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
08/22 – Cleveland, OH @ Globe Iron
08/23 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
08/25 – Toronto, CA @ Danforth Music Hall
08/28 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
08/29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
08/30 – Boston, MA @ Citizens House of Blues
09/01 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
09/02 – Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
09/04 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Live
09/05 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
09/07 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade (Heaven)
09/09 – Austin, TX @ Emo's
09/10 – Dallas, TX @ The Bomb Factory
09/11 – San Antonio, TX @ The Aztec Theatre
09/13 – Mexico City, MX @ Warped Tour
09/15 – Mesa, AZ @ The Nile Theater
09/17 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
09/18 – San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom
09/19 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
09/21 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
09/22 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
09/24 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Rockwell at The Complex
09/26 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
09/28 – St. Louis, MO (venue TBD)

UK Dates:

10/24 – London @ Earth Hall
10/25 – Leeds @ Stylus
10/27 – Glasgow @ SWG3 Studio
10/28 – Manchester @ Academy 2
10/29 – Bristol @ The Prospect Building

European dates with Modern Color and Australian dates with Drug Church are also confirmed for late 2026 into early 2027. More details on those to come.

Exclusive Vinyl Pressings

If you're a vinyl person, there are a bunch of limited pressings available for pre-order. BrooklynVegan has an exclusive "Ether" variant limited to 400 copies. Alternative Press also has their own exclusive limited to 400. Run For Cover has additional variants including a Matador Red (1,000 copies) and a Halcyon Blues store exclusive (850 copies). You can pre-order directly from Run For Cover. These limited runs tend to move fast, so don't sit on it.

Don't Sleep on This One

Citizen have been doing this for 17 years. They came up as Toledo high schoolers, survived every wave and trend shift in the scene, and they're still here putting out records that push their sound forward. While a lot of their peers from the early 2010s emo wave have come and gone, these guys kept their heads down and let the music do the talking. Pitchfork once called them "a band their fans can grow up with rather than out of," and that feels more true than ever.

Halcyon Blues drops August 7. The Hollywood Palladium show is September 17. Tickets go on sale Friday, May 1 at 10 AM local. Get on it.

Cover photo courtesy of Ticketmaster