The Westmeath quartet, who just released their fantastic debut studio album earlier this year, have had a meteoric rise to stardom, quickly becoming one of the most exciting live acts on the music scene since their formation in 2013.

With just one EP, Loose Friends, to their name in October 2015, they managed to sell out their first show at Dublin's Vicar Street.

Massive hits, such as ‘Different’, ‘Mixtape 2003’, ‘Bear Claws’, ‘Permanent Vacation’, ‘Why Can't We Be Friends?’ and 2018’s ‘Fake ID’ followed, leading to them garnering a huge following and critical acclaim.

Band members Craig Fitzgerald, Dean Gavin, and brothers Matthew and Stephen Murtagh have also amassed an impressive live resume, with a sold-out headline shows across Ireland, and appearances at some of Europe’s most high profile festivals as well as opening slots for acts like Twenty One Pilots, The Strokes, and Catfish And The Bottlemen.

Their debut studio album Tales from the Backseat was released in January 2018 and entered the Official Irish Charts at number one. In the Hot Press Annual 2019, we had Tales from the Backseat ranked in our Top 10 from throughout the year.

In July 2018, The Academic performed their biggest ever headline show at Iveagh Gardens, Dublin to 5,000 people, and they'll be returning to the venue in July 2019.

The Academic will play the Heineken Big Top as part of Galway International Arts Festival 2019 on Saturday 20 July. Tickets for the show go on sale on Friday 14 December 2018 at 9am, and are priced at €35. You can find out more information at www.giaf.ie and roisindubh.net.

Galway International Arts Festival 2019 takes place from 15-28 July 2019, with Bangor indie group Two Door Cinema Club (Friday 26 July) and much loved Irish rock band Bell X1 (Friday 19 July) already announced for the Heineken Big Top. More acts are set to be announced in the new year.