Hawthorne Heights Brings Anniversary Tour to Irving Plaza and Starland Ballroom

If you're anywhere near the tri-state area this fall, clear your schedule for October 24th and 25th. Hawthorne Heights is rolling through New York and New Jersey on back-to-back nights as part of the second leg of their If Only You Were Lonely 20th anniversary tour, and honestly, these are two of the best rooms they could have picked for it.

October 24th puts them at Irving Plaza in New York City, followed by Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ on October 25th. Both venues have that mid-size energy where you're close enough to feel it. If you've ever been to Starland for a show like this, you already know.

20 Years of If Only You Were Lonely

For anyone who needs a refresher, If Only You Were Lonely dropped on February 28, 2006. It debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and hit number one on the Top Independent Albums chart. The RIAA certified it Gold in 2016. It was the band's second studio album, and it cemented them as one of the defining acts of mid-2000s emo. Songs like Saying Sorry became anthems for an entire generation, and the album still holds up.

It's also the last album to feature Casey Calvert before his passing in November 2007. That adds a layer of weight to every night on this tour. When they play this record front to back, it means something.

What to Expect

The format for this tour is exactly what you want. Hawthorne Heights plays If Only You Were Lonely in its entirety, then comes back for a five-song encore that pulls from the rest of their catalog. That means you're getting the full album experience plus tracks like Ohio Is For Lovers and newer material from their 2021 record The Rain Just Follows Me. I'll be real, that's a stacked setlist.

Support on both legs comes from letlive. and Creeper. That's a lineup with serious range. If you haven't caught letlive. live, they bring a completely different intensity that pairs well with a night of nostalgia. And Creeper adds that theatrical edge. Three bands, three totally different flavors. No filler on this bill.

New Music Too

This isn't purely a nostalgia play. The band dropped a new single called Like A Cardinal on March 20th, recorded at their own studio, A Nightmare on North Elm Street. They described the track as going for a heavier, more dense sound while keeping that signature sweetness in the choruses. Their words: "We are the sour patch kids of emo. A little sour, but mostly sweet." I respect the self-awareness.

The song already got its live debut during the first leg of the tour, and early reactions have been solid. It's a good sign when a band celebrating a 20-year-old album still has the drive to put out new material that actually hits.

The Bigger Picture

The Irving Plaza and Starland dates are part of a massive second leg that runs from late October through late November. The first leg kicked off March 7th in Lexington, Kentucky, and already sold out select dates, which is why the band expanded the run. Outside of the headlining tour, they've got confirmed festival appearances at Sonic Temple, multiple Vans Warped Tour dates, Aftershock, and Slam Dunk overseas. Plus international runs through Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and Europe. This is a band going all in on 2026.

For context, Hawthorne Heights has two Gold albums, both The Silence in Black and White and If Only You Were Lonely. They've been a hard-touring act for over two decades out of Dayton, Ohio. The fact that they're still selling out rooms and expanding tours says a lot about the staying power of this era of music.

Tickets and Dates

Here are the two dates you need to know:

October 24 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza

October 25 – Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom

Tickets for the second leg went on sale March 20th. For the full list of dates and to grab yours, head to hawthorneheights.com. Select dates on the first leg already sold out, so don't sleep on these. If you grew up with this record, you owe it to yourself to hear it played front to back in a room full of people who feel the same way.

Cover photo courtesy of Ticketmaster