LAB-T// RATBOYS (US) + BAT EYES
Schedule
Fri, 15 May, 2026 at 08:00 pm
UTC+02:00Location
Jeugdhuis Tijl | Diest, VB
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𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼Despite its title, Ratboys’ new album Singin’ to an Empty Chair is not defined by what’s missing. Rather, it’s the beginning of an important dialogue with a close loved one vocalist Julia
Steiner finds herself estranged from. The music on the band’s sixth studio album – its first for New West Records – fills the space that person left behind with 11 songs showcasing Ratboys
at the peak of their powers — twangy, effervescent, as confident as they’ve ever been, and perhaps more emotionally interrogative than ever before. The four-piece Chicago band followed
up 2023’s highly acclaimed The Window by reconvening with co-producer Chris Walla to begin tracking at a rural Wisconsin cabin before taking the songs to Steve Albini’s famed Electrical
Audio studios in Chicago and later to Rosebud Studio in Evanston, Illinois. The results veer from bubbly power-pop on “Anywhere” to irresistible post-country on “Penny in the Lake,” along with heart-piercing ballads like “Just Want You to Know the Truth” and an exhilarating detour into the extraterrestrial on “Light Night Mountains All That,” which Steiner dubs the band’s mammoth “wormhole jam.” Singin’ to an Empty Chair also marks the first Ratboys album written since Steiner began therapy, which the singer/lyricist credits for the clarity found across the
album’s unflinching examinations of relationship and self. Fittingly, as the album begins by extending a hand into the void, it concludes with a scene of serenity – all while weaving candid honesty, humor, chaos, and whimsy along the way. “It's not all doom and gloom,” Steiner says. “The experience of making this record definitely gives me hope for whatever happens next.”
𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻
https://ratboys.bandcamp.com/album/singin-to-an-empty-chair
𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳
Mj Lenderman, Courtney Barnett, Alvvays, Wednesday
𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗯𝘆
Bat Eyes • Promising Belgian indie rock outfit with sophomore album 'Murch' coming out through PIAS in September 2026. First singles out now!
𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴
20u00 • Doors
20u30 • Bat Eyes
21u30 • Ratboys
𝗧𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀
Pay What You Can • €0, €5, €10 or €15
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https://lab-t.stager.co/shop/lab-t
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Where is it happening?
Jeugdhuis Tijl, Begijnenstraat 1, 3290 Diest, België, Diest, BelgiumEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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