PREVIEW: Hometown Heroes State Champs Return to Albany
01/13 @ Empire Live, Albany
Photo by Kiki Vassilakis
The pop-punk phenoms are returning to their roots on January 13 to play Empire Live; their first show back home since the end of their beloved Frozen Fest back in 2022 during the Kings of the New Age tour.
As we enter 2026, Albany natives State Champs will have just closed their 10-year anniversary of their second full-length album, Around the World and Back, released under Pure Noise Records. Just because it’s a new year, however, doesn’t mean they’re done celebrating. The pop-punk phenoms are returning to their roots on January 13 to play Empire Live; their first show back home since the end of their beloved Frozen Fest back in 2022 during the Kings of the New Age tour. It’s about time we get to rock out to them live once more, especially considering the self-titled album State Champs has since been released.
Unfortunately for those of you late to the party, this show is already sold out, so unless you’re going to shell out for some re-sale tickets, you’re going to have to live vicariously through the rest of us… sorry, not sorry! For us eager attendees, why don’t we take a walk down memory lane to truly appreciate this hometown return.
Back in 2013, State Champs released their first full-length album, The Finer Things, with an album cover photographed on the corner of Lark St. and Hudson Ave. The blistering attention this record received — including a 5/5 from Kerrang! and a #2 debut on the Billboard Heatseekers album chart — caused fans of the band from local streets and far away lands to snap pictures of themselves at this very intersection to commemorate their new favorite band. Hell, someone even proposed to their girlfriend there before taking their new fiancée to a State Champs show.
Side note: the group released one EP-turned-album before their 2013 fame, Apparently I’m Nothing, a 2011 showing of nine songs. While they don’t typically play songs from this era, I’d brush up on the tracks if I were you, as they played a few last time they were here.
While we can’t be 100% sure, it’s safe to expect a number of tracks to be played from 2015’s Around the World and Back seeing as how they’ve been big on the anniversary angle. Have those years made you feel old yet? Well, while promoting this album, they came to the FYE in Crossgates Mall to play some acoustic tracks and do a meet-and-greet for fans. It was here, as a ninth-grader, that I got my (dad’s) CD signed and my picture taken with lead singer Derek DiScanio. In 2026, I AM a high school teacher and I take ibuprofen so my back won’t hurt when I stand in general admission for these shows. Oof.
Now balancing marriages, kids, and stardom, the band propelled into their latest three eras: Living Proof (2018), Kings of the New Age (2022), and State Champs (2024). On the Pure Noise Records website, we hear from bassist Ryan Scott Graham reflecting on how these life changes informed their latest album.
I wanted to reconnect with my bandmates as friends and brothers… it’s not like we were checked out or unexcited about doing the band, but in any group, the frustration, tension, and unspoken communication breakdowns can put you in a spot where you are holding resentments. I was like, ‘Let’s just go to the desert, write some songs, and reconnect.’
Thus, the self-titled record was born, featuring one of my favorite tracks of all time from the group, “Clueless.” Now, a new era is being hinted at with their two November 2025 singles, “(For The) Hell Of It” and “Common Sense.” All I can say is study up, get excited, and bring your A-game – everyone knows a homecoming show is the best kind of show, and that’s because of us local fans.
