PREVIEW: Man Must Explore Returns to Home Terrain for Albany Show
06/27 @ Empire Underground, Albany
“I just wanted to make sure that we had the emotional and logistical space to make a really great, big Albany show, because when we play Albany, it’s such a big event.”
Hometown heroes and alt-rock group Man Must Explore will make their grand return to Empire Underground on June 27. The occasion will mark the band’s first homecoming show since lead vocalist Ryan Treen moved out west.
Bassist Ana Peronico jokes that she’s excited to have their little cult back together. After all, they do all have matching tattoos and keep voodoo dolls in their guitar cases.
The band’s reunion is sure to be palpable by the energy they plan to bring to the stage. They collectively agree upon topping their past Underground shows, something that may seem like a hard feat given the fervor they say filled the room to the very brim in gigs past. But they are up for the challenge.
Treen explained they are going to top the theatrics and crowd involvement by encouraging fans to wear costumes to celebrate LGBTQIA+ pride, with the best dressed winning a prize.
While they are strong as a team, each member of the Man Must Explore mission brings their own unique energy to the table. Peronico, who will provide more vocals during performances on this upcoming tour than in the past, plans to take her own contributions to the next level.
“That's exciting for me. I feel like that gives another, not only nervous [feeling], but excitement. I feel like just the break we’ve had from the past tour to this one kind of gives this eager[ness] for us to play, and then maybe for people to come see us,” Peronico explained.
Once they locked in the Cap City gig – which will also feature local bands Not Chinese Takeout and New Monarchy – they built out a larger tour from there.
“I just wanted to make sure that we had the emotional and logistical space to make a really great, big Albany show, because when we play Albany, it’s such a big event,” Treen said.
Before returning to their home terrain on the East Coast, the Rise With Pride Tour began on the West Coast, with three performances in Oregon. Select shows featured community tables shining a spotlight on the resources provided by local organizations focused on LGBTQIA+ rights, mutual aid, adult education, survivor support and immigrant justice, as well as petitions. Capital Pride will table Man Must Explore’s Empire Underground stop.
The quartet’s first time rocking the Albany venue was for a cancer benefit show for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in April 2025. Treen said the experience inspired the band to develop something similar for their Rise With Pride Tour.
“That was something that really showed me that when you invest in the scene of cool people trying to do not-for-profit work, it’s literally the most rewarding experience,” Treen described.
Tickets for Man Must Explore’s Empire Underground show in Albany on June 27 can be purchased online at this link. For more information on the rest of their Rise With Pride Tour, visit the band's website here.
