American Football made their return to North America with a surprise show at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY ahead of a sold-out night at Brooklyn Paramount a few days later. The show, just announced over a week before, treated fans to a smaller and more intimate evening with the band.

The band kicked the night off with a few songs from their eponymous fourth LP released earlier this year before rewinding a bit through the previous two LPs the band has put out since their reunion in the mid-2010s. Each song they played felt exactly as big and theatrical as they needed to be without feeling like “too much”—with long instrumental introductions and carefully-picked projected visuals as accompaniment.

American Football at Music Hall of Williamsburg on July 17, 2026 in Brooklyn, NY by Bobby Nicholas III

By the point we were all settled into the groove of the show, the band ended the first part of their set with some songs from their first LP. The crowd instantly reacted with nostalgia and care as they hung onto every note of the music that helped define midwest emo over the last quarter-century. There was also cheering at key moments, such as the ‘American Football house’—made famous as being the cover of their first LP released in 1999—finally showing itself on the projected screen behind the band during “Stay Home.”

After a brief break, the band came back out to finish the night off with more songs from LP4. As they played through these final songs of the show, I felt incredibly nostalgic for everything that I just witnessed… which I feel like is the whole theme of American Football’s music and general vibe that surrounds each release. I admittedly have only started listening to this band very recently, but something about seeing them live makes me feel like I’ve grown up with them and understand everything they put into their lyrics.

American Football at Music Hall of Williamsburg on July 17, 2026 in Brooklyn, NY by Bobby Nicholas III

Words and Photos by Bobby Nicholas III

order tickets for American Football HERE