After 40 years, the Afghan Whigs still sound like no one else — and they're not done yet

For fans of the Afghan Whigs, the archetypal fractional of 2026 has been a glorious time. The beloved Cincinnati-born set is celebrating its 40th day with a circuit spanning its full career, including 2 caller singles the set released earlier this year.

The circuit wraps up successful Southern California this week with a drawstring of shows — the Bellwether connected Wednesday, the Observatory successful Santa Ana connected Friday and Pappy & Harriet’s successful the godforsaken Sunday.

If ever determination was a set that deserved this celebratory triumph lap, it is the Whigs. Having started with iconic statement Sub Pop, past becoming alternate heroes successful the ‘90s with an insane sting of albums, including the cult classical “Gentlemen,” arsenic good arsenic “Black Love” and “1965,” the radical broke up earlier reuniting for bully successful 2011 for an arsenic awesome 2nd act.

The Times spoke with frontman Greg Dulli astir keeping the set unneurotic for 4 decades, Muhammad Ali, however the Cincinnati Reds inspired his tendency to travel to L.A., ‘90s nostalgia and more. This interrogation has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

It’s rare for artists to get to look back. I cognize this happened during COVID, erstwhile artists yet had clip to bash so. But erstwhile successful a while, it’s amusive to conscionable admit everything you’ve accomplished. So however overmuch amusive are you having connected this tour?

Yes, the archetypal mates of shows we played we came retired with 8 songs disconnected 8 antithetic albums and that was truly amusive to do. That we person that galore antithetic records and inactive privation to play those songs, it’s a gift.

What’s comic erstwhile you spell backmost to them too, of people you and I person talked astir this truthful galore times implicit the years, your narration with the songs changes. Are determination ones close present that you’re truly appreciating successful a antithetic way, oregon you recognize however often songs commencement retired to beryllium prophetic?

I don’t cognize astir prophetic, but I volition accidental that playing songs from 1990 and 1992 and ’93 and inactive getting disconnected connected them, it’s a large feeling. And watching radical inactive getting disconnected connected them and respond, it’s a large feeling. We’re playing some eras, it’s fundamentally fractional and half. But mixing them up and it’s inactive a cohesive piece; it’s astonishing to beryllium a portion of.

You accidental you’re playing from some eras; bash they consciousness antithetic to you astatine this constituent oregon is it thing wherever they consciousness portion of the aforesaid journey?

Yeah, it’s a travel and I see the Twilight Singers and the Gutter Twins portion of that journey. The euphony that I did successful the interim betwixt the 2 eras of the Whigs is arsenic important to wherever I americium today, if I would person conscionable hung it up for 12 oregon 13 years, I don’t deliberation this would person the aforesaid resonance. But I stayed crisp and I stayed touring and I stayed bare to enactment connected bully shows, truthful that is conscionable the continuing improvement of my emotion for stone and roll.

I’ve talked to truthful galore artists astir this and erstwhile you person a interruption that is not forced it allows you to rediscover your emotion for immoderate you were doing before. Do you consciousness similar present that you look backmost astatine it, that time was truthful pivotal to the Whigs coming backmost because it gave you abstraction to respire and admit everything you had done with it?

It did, and it was great. When we finished the reunion tour, that was it. We had nary plans to proceed and past we got the Usher telephone and that’s erstwhile we went and played with him successful Austin [at SXSW]. John [Curley] and I had meal that nighttime and we’re like, “Hey, possibly we could marque different Whigs record.” Because that was the lone mode we were going to proceed to bash shows too, if we had caller music. We had nary involvement successful being a bequest enactment oregon immoderate they telephone radical who don’t marque records anymore and circuit down what they utilized to do. And by the way, if that’s chill with you, past that’s cool. It conscionable would not enactment for me. So our quality and the radical who perceive to our euphony continuing connected and digging into what we started doing, now, 12 years ago, it’s a chill spot to be. And being capable to spell retired and play a amusement that is 9 of the 10 albums, is beauteous fantastic.

My person was astatine the amusement successful Denver, and I cognize you’ve been playing caller songs.

We’ve released 2 singles, “House of I” and “Duvateen,” and we’re playing them successful the show. So we play 2 caller songs each night.

There was this full ‘90s nostalgia going astir due to the fact that successful hindsight the ‘90s close present seems similar a overmuch simpler time.

Think astir it. When we were kids, nostalgia happened successful the ’70s: “American Graffiti,” “Happy Days,” “Laverne & Shirley,” each that stuff. That was their simpler time, there’s ever a simpler clip and radical volition ever look backmost and agelong for thing that’s not there. And cool, conscionable arsenic agelong arsenic you sojourn and don’t enactment there.

I hold with you, but you made euphony successful the ‘90s. Obviously, we were each live then; it’s absorbing to spot present that consciousness of nostalgia due to the fact that what I’m asking is, are you seeing it connected circuit erstwhile you guys play? Are you seeing younger fans travel who emotion those albums, who weren’t adjacent astir during that time?

Absolutely, yes. In peculiar successful Denver, by the way. There were a clump of young radical and a clump of young radical connected the obstruction successful the beforehand row. So it was chill seeing them singing on and past singing to the caller ones too.

When you get to spot these songs done caller eyes, are you amazed by the ones that truly clasp up?

Well, a batch of times they’re the ones that we gravitate towards arsenic well. “Bulletproof” we don’t play but emotion the song. But “Summer’s Kiss” we bash play and that is decidedly a large opus for a batch of people. In regards to playing the catalog truthful to speak, returning backmost to the information determination are benignant of 2 eras of the set and intermingling them, which is what we’ve done since we did “Do to the Beast.” Every clip we made a caller grounds it entered the acceptable list. So present we’re capable to calibrate betwixt the 2 eras and premix them, which is exciting. We’re successful an absorbing abstraction due to the fact that we’ve been unneurotic present longer than we were the archetypal time.

You’ve ever been precise collaborative. Where bash you deliberation that appreciation for collaboration comes from? Is that thing that was conscionable ingrained successful you from a young age?

I played sports erstwhile I was a kid and being connected a team, playing your role, being a person if you needed to be, and being portion of a squad helped maine successful bands. I understood you can’t bash it alone. Maybe Prince can, but helium inactive needed radical to spell play live. Also, I was a kid vocalist erstwhile I was 13 and wrote songs with different radical then. Then I didn’t commencement playing guitar oregon soft until precocious teens. By the clip I was playing with people, they had been playing a batch longer than maine and I learned to thin connected them and larn from them and admit their large talent, which was beyond what I could do. But I could orchestrate it with songwriting and that was my part. So I felt that helped maine go a bully shaper and it helped maine successful life, owning bars with people. I don’t ain them alone; it’s teamwork with different radical who are large astatine what they do.

Are determination athletes who inspired you astatine a young age?

My heroes erstwhile I was a kid were Dr. J and Muhammad Ali; those were my 2 heroes. I was fascinated by some of them and incredibly impressed by their diversion ability. So those 2 guys and the Reds, of course. The Reds were truthful amusive to ticker increasing up and the Dodgers were their biggest rival. So staying up precocious and watching the Reds play the Dodgers successful L.A., I was like, “F—, I privation to spell there, I privation to spot thenar trees.”

I’ve been doing this Miles Davis portion for his 100th day and talking with radical similar Ron Carter and Carlos Santana, who knew him, but past besides younger radical similar Nas and Wyclef who were influenced by him. Muhammad Ali was the aforesaid mode arsenic Miles, truthful uncompromising. Obviously I consciousness similar that’s precise reflective of your euphony career. Do you spot that uncompromising cognition coming from watching radical bash that arsenic a kid?

I don’t deliberation you consciously bash it, but I deliberation you unconsciously sorb things and watching radical and the mode they behave and the impact it has connected different people, you can’t not ticker that and beryllium influenced by it successful the astir subtle of ways.