The Hold Steady gets the old gang back together for a series of shows

By William Hughes | May 5, 2016 | 10:46pm

Aux Features Music

The Hold Steady gets the old gang back together for a series of shows

Critically beloved indie rockers (and Westerosi troubadours) The Hold Steady released its breakout album, Boys And Girls In America, 10 years ago this October. To commemorate the anniversary, the band hopped on Facebook today to announce that it’s planning a series of live shows celebrating the album (even though any good Game Of Thrones fan could tell them how dangerous such festivities could get). In an exciting move for fans of the band’s older work, though, the group also announced that it’s turning these anniversary shows into an old-school Hold Steady reunion, with original keyboardist Franz Nicolay signing on for the celebratory mini-tour.

Calling his work with the band “a closed book,” Nicolay left the group in 2010, shortly before the release of its fifth album, Heaven Is Whenever. Now, that jangly, bar-rocking tome has apparently popped open again, because the keyboard player will be joining his old band mates—and his quasi-replacement, guitarist Steve Selvidge—for a series of engagements in the fall. According to the Facebook post, the band originally intended to release full details for the shows today, but was forced to push the official post back to May 18.