Ian MacKaye Has a New As-Yet-Unnamed Band with Former Fugazi Bandmate Joe Lally and His Wife Amy Farina of The Evens

Fans of the legendary Ian MacKaye have something to celebrate, as it’s been noted by Pitchfork that he’s got a new band in the works. The band doesn’t have a name, but they’ll be playing their first show this weekend (11/11) at the St. Stephens Auditorium in his hometown of Washington D.C. at a fundraiser for a local flea market.

The news was broke via an email that was sent around to find volunteers for the fundraiser. Twitter user and area journalist Matt Cohen noticed the note at the bottom of the email that reads: “Finally, a new band with Ian MacKaye, Amy Farina and Joe Lally will play their first show Sunday night, also at St. Stephen’s… it is a benefit for Loaves & Fishes, and we can use help doing set up, door, etc! Sorry to only be letting you all know about this Sunday show now — Ian M wanted to keep it under wraps till last minute.”

Considering the significance that MacKaye has a new band with his former Fugazi bandmate Joe Lally, it probably wasn’t a bad idea to keep the news of the show on the down low until the last minute. That show is likely to be flooded with fans of DC hardcore looking for an opportunity to see the singer/guitarist perform alongside his longtime former bassist. Another cool note about this band is that his wife Amy Farina will be in the band too, likely as the drummer. Her and MacKaye released three excellent albums together as The Evens, showcasing a stripped-down sound with catchy melodies and socially-conscious lyrics.

The reunion of MacKaye and Lally isn’t incredibly shocking, as it’s been well documented that the members of Fugazi are all on good terms. In fact, it was recently revealed that the four members of the band still jam together. Those hoping for a full-blown Fugazi reunion shouldn’t hold their breath, as the band has made it clear they’re not interested in reuniting and are busy with new projects.

One such project included Lally and Brendan Canty (Fugazi’s drummer), called Messthetics. They released their debut LP earlier this year and appear to be touring into 2019, leaving those two members busy for the foreseeable future.

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat