Brand New Reunite After Seven Years for Secret Performance

Brand New reunited over the weekend nearly seven years after the band split up for a secret performance in Nashville, as confirmed by Lambgoat.

Reports surfaced over the last few days that the band played a private, intimate show Sunday night (Dec. 15) at the Eastside Bowl in Nashville. Lambgoat verified the rumors with the venue, according to a post the publication shared earlier today.

Setlist.fm notes that the band played eight songs during the performance, including an “unknown” track. They also played two songs from their 2017 album Science Fiction for the first time — “Waste” and “Batter Up” — as well as a few covers.

Brand New Split in Late 2017

Prior to Sunday night’s show, their last listed performance on Setlist.fm took place on Oct. 29, 2017 in Dallas, Texas. Though the band intended on breaking up in 2018, frontman Jesse Lacey was accused of sexual misconduct a few weeks after their last show in the fall of 2017.

Lacey responded to the allegations in a post on social media apologizing for his actions, claiming he developed a sex addiction when he was young.

“I am sorry for how I have hurt people, mistreated them, lied, and cheated. I am sorry for ignoring the way in which my position, status, and power as a member of a band affected the way people viewed me or their approach to their interactions with me. And I am sorry for how often I have not afforded women the respect, support, or honesty that they deserved, and which is their right,” he wrote.

You can read the full statement at this location.

The Show Was Reportedly for Charity

Lambgoat said “Lacey/Brand New” possibly performed a similar secret show around this time in 2023, though it’s not listed on Setlist.fm. There is uncertainty about whether that performance was solo or with the band and NME reports a fan had stated a solo show by Lacey took place.

Fans are unsure whether Sunday night’s performance will amount to a full comeback for the band or not.

A few people in attendance at the concert claimed that it was to raise money for charity, as Lacey’s stepson Miles died in early 2022.

The Concert Had a Strict No-Phones Policy

Although the venue stated that the show had a strict no-phones policy for attendees, some photos and clips eventually leaked online. A sound engineer named Phil Gornell shared a photo on his Instagram story of stage equipment with the account @notweetbrandnew tagged, and the band’s song “Jude Law And A Semester Abroad” playing over it, which led to the initial speculation.

Other photos show that the original lineup was present for the performance, consisting of Lacey, guitarist Vincent Accardi, drummer Brian Lane and bassist Garrett Tierney.

See some more posts below.

READ MORE: Five Bands We Never Thought Would Reunite (But Did)

More Reports by Alleged Show Attendees

An individual who allegedly attended the show Sunday night wrote a post on Reddit that says, “Don’t get your hopes up about a tour. This was a very personal and emotional event to raise money for charities close to Jesse’s family.”

Another fan had commented on the thread countering the statement. They said, “I would write it off as just a yearly friends and family show but the updates to their streaming profiles happening at the same time is weird,” adding that Brand New’s 2003 release The Holiday EP was just added to streaming services for the first time.

The original author of the post, who claimed they were invited because they know people in the music industry, later shared that “the vibe was great” and the band seemed to enjoy playing the show.

“A lot of friends on stage other than just the band. They played Christmas songs, talked a lot, goofed off, and mostly played the show they wanted to play. My takeaway is that life is hard as fuck. It gets in the way of all your best plans,” they elaborated.

“Seems like the community in Nashville has rallied around Jesse and his family. It was obvious in the yells of support he got throughout the night. I don’t know what that means for Brand New but Jesse obviously wants to keep making music.”