Beloved Chicago four-piece Ratboys perfect their twangy, twee sound on Singin’ to an Empty Chair. It’s the band’s sixth record and my favorite album of 2026 so far (and it may be tough for any other release to beat it). While the band co-pens tunes together, the naming of the album comes from lead singer Julia Steiner’s experience with the empty chair technique — a practice in psychotherapy that involves speaking to an empty chair to verbalize thoughts and feelings otherwise difficult to say out loud to someone else or yourself. She practiced this method herself and recorded her sessions, which planted the seeds for the album. In both lyrics and arrangements, you feel the thoughtfulness and catharsis come across in each song, whether it’s a direct address about an estranged relationship or a bouncy love song. With Singin’ to an Empty Chair, Ratboys have created a space for holding nothing back. Witness them rip through the record live, and be sure to get there on time to see the virtuosic and gloriously unhinged Philadelphia alt-country group Florry open.
8 p.m. at The Basement East
917 Woodland St.
