Los Angeles duo After are heading to New Zealand for the first time, bringing their genre-blurring sound to Auckland’s The Tuning Fork on Friday 8 January 2027.
The upcoming headline show follows the release of the duo’s debut album, Fell Asleep in the Sun, which arrived on 18 September via Mom + Pop Music.
Across 13 tracks, Justine Dorsey and Graham Epstein blend grungy guitars, trip hop, drum and bass, shoegaze and sharply written pop, drawing heavily on the sounds and imagery of the early 2000s.
Mall soundtracks, internet nostalgia, and cultural memory all find their way into the world of Fell Asleep in the Sun, but After is less interested in recreating the past than in examining why it still holds such power.
The album explores shifting memories, the quiet grief that can accompany getting older and the strange experience of watching parts of your life disappear while you are still living it.
That approach has already attracted international attention, with After receiving coverage from Rolling Stone, The Cut and Interview Magazine. Rolling Stone described the duo as feeling “like a memory you can’t quite place.”
The story behind After is almost as unexpected as their sound. Dorsey and Epstein first met on Hinge in 2023. While the meeting didn’t lead to a romantic relationship, the pair quickly discovered a creative connection.
Since then, they have developed a distinctive world around After that brings together songwriting, immersive imagery and an unwillingness to settle comfortably within a single genre.
Their momentum has continued internationally, with their North American headline tour including sold-out shows in New York, Los Angeles, Austin and Toronto, alongside arena dates supporting The Neighbourhood.
Their music has also appeared in Apple advertising campaigns and a Gap campaign, while the duo landed a place on Zane Lowe’s 26 for ’26 playlist.
New Zealand audiences will get their first chance to experience After live when Dorsey and Epstein arrive in Auckland this summer, with The Tuning Fork hosting their only announced New Zealand headline show on Friday 8 January.
Fell Asleep in the Sun is out now via Mom + Pop Music, with tickets to After’s Auckland show on sale now.
