Fontaines D.C. returns
Fontaines D.C. are on Sea.Hear.Now’s 2026 bill — billed alongside Mumford & Sons and The Strokes for the Sept. 19–20 festival in Asbury Park. (melodicmag.com) They also dropped a tension‑laden, lounge‑inspired contribution to War Child Records’ HELP(2) — their first new music in four years and already earning critical buzz. (slugmag.com)
Sea.Hear.Now’s official site lists the festival on Sept. 19–20, 2026 with “more than 25 bands on three stages” along the Asbury Park waterfront. (seahearnowfestival.com)) Multiple event write-ups place Fontaines D.C. on the Sunday bill (Sept. 20) alongside acts including The Strokes, and note the festival will run across North Beach and Bradley Park. (stereogum.com)) War Child Records’ HELP (2) was released March 6, 2026 as a 23‑track charity compilation recorded at Abbey Road and executive‑produced by James Ford. (warchild.org.uk)) Fontaines D.C.’s contribution is a studio cover of Sinéad O’Connor’s “Black Boys on Mopeds,” credited on War Child’s Bandcamp and issued with an official visualiser on YouTube on March 6. (warchildrecords.bandcamp.com)) The band described the session as a “unique and life‑affirming” experience in interviews, and critics singled out their rendition as a politically charged highlight on HELP (2). (nme.com)) Fontaines D.C. released their fourth studio album Romance on Aug. 23, 2024 (produced by James Ford on XL Recordings), following Skinty Fia (released Apr. 22, 2022), so the HELP (2) track is a new charity release but not the band’s first new music since 2022. (en.wikipedia.org))
