Ekko Astral have announced that they are going on indefinite hiatus, saying they are ending the band “for the foreseeable future” in order to focus on other musical projects. In a statement shared on social media, the Washington, D.C. punk group said it is “time to end things” and added that its previously announced album, The Beltway Is Burning, will not arrive any time soon.
The band also confirmed two last concerts before the break: a free outdoor show in New York City on August 22 and a final Washington, D.C. performance on August 27. Those dates are being billed as a send-off that will cover the group’s full catalog and include what they described as the last performances of these songs for a long time. At the D.C. show, the painting used on the cover of their 2024 debut, Pink Balloons, will be raffled off, with the proceeds going to trans health services at Whitman-Walker, a local LGBTQ+ clinic.
What led to the pause
Ekko Astral formed in 2021 from college friends Jae Holzman and Liam Hughes, later expanding to include drummer Miri Tyler, bassist Guinevere Tully, and rhythm guitarist Sam Elmore. After Pink Balloons came out on Topshelf Records, Tully and then Elmore left the group. The band also co-founded the Liberation Weekend festival with the nonprofit Gender Liberation Movement last year.
The path to this hiatus has been unfolding for months. In February, Topshelf said it was dropping Ekko Astral and ending its involvement with The Beltway Is Burning. A representative later confirmed to Pitchfork that the move was tied to a falling out between Holzman and Tyler, which led to Holzman filing a peace order petition against Tyler. By March, the album had been postponed indefinitely, the band had withdrawn from a second Liberation Weekend, and all upcoming performances were canceled except for a run of West Coast dates supporting Mclusky. While playing one of those shows, Holzman and Hughes recorded the live album Fuck This Band: Live at the Chapel, which was released on Bandcamp on April 22, the date originally set for The Beltway Is Burning.
In their statement, Holzman and Hughes thanked supporters and described Ekko Astral as something that grew from bedroom jams and basement shows into a realized dream. For now, they say the band is stepping back while they build projects that better match where they are creatively.
Source: pitchfork.com
