Future Islands Burned Bright in a Hometown Show with Dan Deacon and Ed Schrader's Music Beat - 5/28/26

Twenty years can feel like a lifetime. Back in 2006 the US was in the midst of a war in Iraq. A young Daniel Craig was busy flipping expensive cars in the first of what feels like a gazillion Bond films. And a three-piece formed in Greenville, North Carolina, moving two years later to Baltimore on the excellent advice of electronic musician Dan Deacon. That band, Future Islands, has since built a body of work that feels not only important but vital.

To celebrate this feat of longevity, Future Islands recently released a special compilation album of demos and, according to the band’s press release “deep cuts, rarities and live tracks.” I was more than pleasantly surprised to see the lion’s share of the double-LP tracks recorded in Charm City. But the recorded material is really only a small part of the band’s appeal. Where the real magic happens is on the stage, and for this 20th anniversary Future Islands put together a short tour with several stops across North Carolina and a tour wrap at Baltimore’s Pier Six Pavilion.

Looking at the line-up for Thursday’s show, I was reminded of Windjammer in 2015 (it’s still difficult to wrap my head around that it’s been 11 years!) where not only Future Islands performed but openers Ed Schrader’s Music Beat and Dan Deacon kicked things off. This show acted not only as a celebration of the band’s 20 years but also as a reunion of sorts. And, as I think about it, a reunion is probably the most apt description of this show. I got to see friends and fellow music lovers from the area I hadn’t seen in ages all cheering on this band that continues to be a creative beacon for this town.

Starting things off was one of my faves, Ed Schrader’s Music Beat. The duo of Ed Schrader and Devlin Rice had the daunting task of setting the stage, so to speak, and they did it with their trademark manic energy. If you’ve never had the fortune to see Ed Schrader’s Music Beat, just imagine watching someone try to contain a ball of pure energy. As Rice pounded away at the bass, Schrader crooned and hollered in equal measure.

A special surprise came at the tail end of the group’s set when a massive costume rat joined in the fun. But that wouldn’t be this four-legged friend’s last visit as we would later find out.

Dan Deacon plays heavily in the story of Future Islands. As Sam Herring, singer of Future Islands told the crowd, Deacon was the motivating factor in their move from North Carolina to Baltimore. But if you’ve seen Deacon in action, that comes as no surprise. The electronic composer and songwriter can make you believe in just about anything. His shows are an exercise in the power of community as I’ve seen him get an entire room jump, wave their arms, and create massive human tunnels where concert goers race around as the music thumps and squeaks around them.

At the massive Pier Six Pavilion, Dan Deacon and drummer Jeremy Hyman had the quickly filling venue up and moving, though, as Deacon admitted there were some logistical restrictions to some of those activities.

The last time I saw Future Islands was a couple of years back at The Anthem in DC. I loved that show, but I got the feeling there was something missing. When Herring, keyboardist Gerrit Welmers, bassist William Cashion and drummer Michael Lowry took the stage and I heard the joy in the cheers of the crowd it all clicked. There’s nothing like a hometown atmosphere and Future Islands could feel it.

From that opening song, “The Fountain” from the just released From a Hole in the Floor to a Fountain of Youth it was clear this was something special as Herring moved across the stage, reaching out and fist bumping fans one moment and gliding across the floor at times weightless and other times looking like he had the weight of the entire world pulling him down.

Most of the seemed to draw from 2024’s People Who Aren’t There Anymore (“King of Sweden,” “The Tower”) but on the whole the band played an great retrospective of their now eight full-length albums with a few extras in the mix.

I have to say at this point that of all the front people I’ve seen, Sam Herring I think has everyone else beat in terms of boundless energy. How that man can beat his chest, contort himself, squat and high kick and then continue to run across that stage is beyond my understanding of physicality. And then there’s the emotional resonance that seemed to be transmitted across the pavilion that seemed to well up through songs like “For Sure,” “Seasons (Waiting on You),” and, a personal fave, “Tin Man.”

Listen to “Tin Man” by Future Islands below:

As a sort of present to the fans, Future Islands returned to the stage to encore a set of very early songs from the band’s first two albums, Wave Like Home and In Evening Air starting with “Inch of Dust.” But those weren’t the only surprises. During “Vireo’s Eye” we saw the return of the giant rat from the Ed Schrader’s Music Beat set.

Describing that final song of the evening, “Little Dreamer,” Sam told the crowd that the beauty of song “encapsulates these moments in time you can’t forget the things we want to let go, the pain, the feat, the love… it’s always there. That I get to be on stage with my best friends of the last 20 years and to open those doors and see those faces that aren’t there anymore.” A fitting emotional end to an evening that hopes to be the start of another 20 years for this remarkable band.

The setlist included:

The Fountain
King of Sweden
The Tower
A Dream of You and Me
Find Love
Walking Through That Door
One Day
Before the Bridge
Light House
Plastic Beach
Peach
Pinocchio
Give Me the Ghost Back
The Sickness
The Thief
Glimpse
For Sure
Seasons (Waiting on You)
Long Flight
Tin Man