Ratboys have announced Singin’ to an Empty Chair, their new album out February 6th via New West Records, and present a vivacious new single/video, “Anywhere.” Despite its title, the album isn’t defined by what’s missing. Rather, it’s the beginning of an important dialogue with a close loved one vocalist/guitarist 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’ twangy, effervescent, as confident as they’ve ever been, and more emotionally interrogative than ever before.
To craft Singin’ to an Empty Chair, Julia Steiner, guitarist Dave Sagan, drummer Marcus Nuccio, and bassist Sean Neumann decamped to a 75-acre plot of land in Wisconsin’s Driftless Area to write and demo the new songs. Months later, the group reconvened back at the same cabin to begin tracking with co-producer Chris Walla, the band’s trusted collaborator who also produced The Window. After a one-week cabin session, Ratboys and Walla took the songs to Steve Albini’s famed Electrical Audio studio in Chicago, and later to Rosebud Studio in Evanston, Illinois, to finish recording. “We wanted to approach this record like it was a quilt,” Neumann says. “We recorded the songs in all these different places, so we approached it in a way where different songs had different scenes. Certain parts of songs were recorded in different spaces, and we switch back and forth between them throughout the record to help tell the story of each song.”
In early 2026, Ratboys will tour across North America in support of Singin’ to an Empty Chair. Tickets are selling quickly, and a full list of dates can be found below.
Singin’ to an Empty Chair Tracklist
1. Open Up
2. Know You Then
3. Light Night Mountains All That
4. Anywhere
5. Penny in the Lake
6. Strange Love
7. The World, So Madly
8. Just Want You to Know the Truth
9. What’s Right?
10. Burn It Down
11. At Peace in the Hundred Acre Wood
Ratboys Tour Dates
Fri. Oct. 31 – Sat. Nov. 1 – Amsterdam, NL @ London Calling Festival
Sat. Nov. 1 – Groningen, NL @ Take Root Festival
Mon. Nov. 3 – Edinburgh, UK @ The Mash House
Tue. Nov. 4 – Newcastle, UK @ Xerox
Wed. Nov. 5 – London, UK @ Pitchfork London
Fri. Nov. 7 – Brighton, UK @ Mutations Festival
Wed. Feb. 25 – Detroit, MI @ El Club ~
Thu. Feb. 26 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace ~
Fri. Feb. 27 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB ~
Sat. Feb. 28 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair ~
Tue. March 3 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church ~
Thu. March 5 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw ~
Fri. March 6 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club ~
Sat. March 7 – Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry ~
Sun. March 8 – Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall ~
Tue. March 10 – Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle ~
Wed. March 11 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West ~
Thu. March 12 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East ~
Fri. March 13 – Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar ~
Sat. March 14 – Milwaukee, WI @ Vivarium
Tue. March 24 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway •
Wed. March 25 – Kansas City, MO @ recordBar •
Thu. March 26 – Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge •
Fri. March 27 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada •
Sat. March 28 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk •
Mon. March 30 – Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad •
Tue. March 31 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar •
Wed. April 1 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar •
Fri. April 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom •
Sat. April 4 – San Francisco, CA @ August Hall •
Mon. April 6 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret •
Tue. April 7 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos •
Wed. April 8 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater •
Fri. April 10 – Boise, ID @ Shrine Social Club •
Sat. April 11 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Urban Lounge •
Mon. April 13 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater •
Wed. April 15 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room •
Thu. April 16 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line •
Fri. April 17 – Madison, WI @ Atwood Music Hall •
Sat. April 18 – Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre +
~ w/ Florry • w/ villagerrr + w/ Free Range
