Washington, D.C. punks Ekko Astral have announced their new album, the beltway is burning, released its first single, and revealed upcoming tour dates with Agriculture, mclusky, and Perennial.
Out on April 22nd via Topshelf Records, the beltway is burning is a 12-track concept album that’s defined in a press release as “a real-time historical document in the form of a dark comedy.” Each of the LP’s tracks serves as a vignette, taking place in the band’s fictionalized version of Washington D.C.’s Beltway. In their version, Adam Sandler is a “god-president,” and the DMV has become a demilitarized zone ruled by SoundCloud rappers and “butt rockers.”
Pre-order the beltway is burning
The project was written and recorded by Jael Holzman, Liam Hughes, and Miri Tyler, the latter of whom recently announced she was leaving Ekko Astral following the band’s Liberation Weekend performance in late April. Pre-orders are ongoing.
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It’s in this chaotic new realm that the beltway is burning’s lead single, “lil xan goes to washington,” takes place. The track sees the former SoundCloud rapper traveling to D.C. to “lobby for addiction assistance legislation before succumbing to the cartoonish horror that is K Street (where all major lobbying firms are based), ultimately becoming a sellout himself.”
In the video for the frenetic track, Lil Xan himself seems to be in the midst of a psychedelic trip as he dances wildly on a stage in front of a massive light. It captures the explanation for the story perfectly, and paints a picture of what else would be happening in this strange new world. Check out the video below.
“This song was pulled out of thin air in the studio while most of the album was written and ready to record beforehand,” said Hughes in a statement. “We only had the lyrics finished for this one. But once we started messing around, the music wrote itself in minutes, and we all knew we had something special.”
Along with the announcement and single, Ekko Astral have revealed tour dates that kick off on Valentine’s Day in New York City and continue until June 6th in Philadelphia. The trek, which includes a mix of headlining gigs and shows opening for Agriculture and mclusky, stops in major cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Boston. Get tickets here.
For more, read why Ekko Astral are one of Consequence’s Artists to Watch in 2026.
the beltway is burning Artwork:
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<p><strong><em>the beltway is burning </em>Tracklist:</strong><br />01. body generation<br />02. lil xan goes to washington<br />03. horseglue<br />04. beltway (feat. pop music fever dream)<br />05. wmata<br />06. this is not a call to action but a lamentation on the situation at hand (or capital riot)<br />07. elegy for a system (feat. big girl)<br />08. lovesick american romance<br />09. dude with guitars<br />10. sandler ’36<br />11. blood mountain<br />12. comet ping pong</p>
<p><strong>Ekko Astral 2026 Tour Dates:<br /></strong>02/14 — New York, NY @ Baby’s All Right @<br />03/26 — Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile &<br />03/27 — Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Fest<br />03/28 — Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater &<br />03/30 — San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel &<br />03/31 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Theater &<br />04/25 — Washington, D.C. @ Liberation Weekend / Black Cat<br />05/29 — Kingston, NY @ Tubby’s %<br />05/30 — Burlington, VT @ The Monkey House %<br />05/31 — Portland, ME @ SPACE %<br />06/02 — Providence, RI @ Machines With Magnets<br />06/03 — Boston, MA @ The Rockwell<br />06/05 — New York, NY @ Night Club 101<br />06/06 — Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA</p>
<p>@ = w/ Agriculture<br />& = w/ Mclusky<br />% = w/ with Perennial</p>
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