w/ Night Moves | 11.15.26, 8:00pm | Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd. | All ages | $32 adv, $35 day of show
For forty years, Greg Dulli has carved a name for himself as the vocalist of The Afghan Whigs. Formed in 1986, the band rose to prominence with the release of several critically hailed albums (including their debut, Big Top Halloween, Up in It, Congregation, Gentlemen and 1965) before calling it a day in 2001.
Known for taking a mixed bag of influences—including soul, gospel, post-punk and rock—and making his own style from them, Dulli’s voice offered a counterbalance to his grunge contemporaries. Today his voice, better than ever, is his musical calling card. A passionate lover of the Motown era, Dulli’s vocals, both soulful and scratchy, straddle the worlds of soul and indie rock.
Lyrically, Dulli’s songwriting is par excellence, tugging on heartstrings with lyrics that speak to the alienation of 1990s while also examining more contemporary subjects like failed relationships, jealousy, self-destruction, and doubt.
His velvety voice and profound lyrics speak to listeners in ways that other indie bands don’t. As a result, The Afghan Whigs grew from being an unknown
band into full-fledged indie staples whose music resonates today.
While the Afghan Whigs were apart, Dulli, determined to make music on his own terms, formed The Twilight Singers and hooked up with Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees to form The Gutter Twins. The frontman also provided guitar on the Foo Fighters’ “X-Static,” a song on their debut album (and the only instrument on the album not played by Dave Grohl).
In 2011, Dulli put the band back together again, launching a career renaissance for the band as they were discovered by a new generation. After releasing more music and touring extensively, The Afghan Whigs once again cashed in their chips in 2017.
With his band again dormant, Dulli released his first solo album, Random Desire, in 2020. Two years later the Whigs were born once more with the release of two touted releases, How Do You Burn and Soft Comfort, the latter of which was released early in 2026.
Despite being known for his musical accolades, Dulli’s prolific career has extended beyond the Afghan Whigs. Having studied film at the University of Cincinnati before dropping out, his passion for cinema led to appearances in several films including P.S I Love You, She’s All That, Passenger Side and Monument Ave., a movie made by his friend, the late Ted Demme. He also served as John Lennon’s musical voice for the 1994 film Backbeat.
Outside of music, one of his generations finest lyricists is also in the saloon business: Dulli is the proprietor of several bars in New Orleans and Los Angeles.
Dulli spoke with The Arts STL ahead of The Afghan Whigs upcoming appearance in St. Louis at Delmar Hall on November 15th.
The Arts STL: With the North American tour winding up, how have the live shows been for you?
Greg Dulli: We did a couple of festivals in the summer, in England and central Europe; those were fantastic. We have a few weeks left of this tour to end the year. To be honest, it’s been fun.
Do you think the Afghan Whigs are perceived differently in Europe than in the U.S.?
We have been lucky to have audiences that dig us. We set out to play 50 to 70 cities abroad that we thought we would do well in. That’s what we do. So, those are in Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, and England.
Are your songs autobiographical, or do you find yourself writing songs about people, you know, or characters that you think of?
I have the opinion that no one is so interesting to write about autobiographically. Although, obviously, events happen in your life that make you move toward art to help explain it to yourself or to perform a catharsis or self-exorcism. Sure, there are parts of me in there, but there are also my observations and my imagination in there, too. I’d say it’s always a mélange.
What is your creative process?
I either go to Joshua Tree or New Orleans, where both of my bandmates have studios, and as soon as I walk into a room, there are instruments and microphones. That’s where I make it happen. I’ve written songs kind of the same way since I was a teenager. I come up with a riff and a melody, then I try to write meaningful words behind the melody. If you have a good system, don’t screw [with] it.
Can you comment on making Soft Control? How long did it take to make?
With Soft Control, I took a year off from writing and just traveled. So, there was one year out right there. I did not write one song in 2024. We were touring in 2022 and 2023 for the last album, so most of it went down in 2023, and most of it went down in 2025. Although I wrote one of the songs in 2026.
But you can’t wait for the muse to shine a light upon you. You work with it. Sometimes, they just want to come right out, and that’s great, you know. Like, then you’re not even writing it as much as you’re just channeling it. You know what I mean?
Sometimes you’ve got to get in there and change the tires. It’s always different, and that’s why it’s cool. How I write them is one way, but how they happen is always different, and a lot of my favorite songs happened by accident.
Those happy accidents are always amazing.
Did taking a year off to travel influence you as a musician and an artist?
It is influencing me all the time, whether I’m at home or in St. Louis, Thailand, Australia, Japan, or Argentina. Whenever I am traveling, I’m constantly being influenced and inspired.
You went to school to study film. How does film relate to your music?
You learn how to create a narrative and communicate with an audience that way. It was another thing that helped me along the way.
Do you have the urge to go back and do anything with film?
I’m always part of all the videos. I’ve been a part of every one I’ve ever made, so I still have interest in the form. But making a feature-length film is highly unlikely.
It’s a completely different kind of work. I’ve directed short films, and I’ve acted in studio films, so I know what that takes and the level of expertise you need.
But, at the same time, you’re watching young people become phenomena on YouTube and whatever, and then the next thing you know, they’re getting studio deals.
How did your relationship with Ted Demme come about?
I optioned a book called Spoken in Darkness, and we were developing it for a long time. But it never happened. That’s the movie business for you.
We became great friends, and I acted in a couple of his films and did music for a couple of his films. He was one of the best friends I’ve ever had. He was a magnificent human being who I loved a lot. I am happy that he came into my life for the time that he did. I’ll be forever grateful for that.
What was it like being friends with Paul Reubens?
He was one of the kindest, most thoughtful, and funniest people. He had a very sweet, kind, and gentle soul.
He was incredible. I don’t think people realize the sort of range and depth that he had.
You’ve done a lot of great musical collaborations in your career. Do you like that, or do you feel more comfortable just doing your own thing?
Collaborations are incredibly fun because you get to work with someone else’s brain and creativity, and they’re going to come up with something that you’ll never come up with, and you’re going to come up with something they’ll never come up with. That’s the magic of collaboration.
Going all the way back to the first Whigs albums, where Rick McCollum and I were doing that. He was coming up with riffs that I could never come up with. He was a riff guy, and I was a song guy, and we were perfect for each other. I could turn his riffs into songs, and that was immensely rewarding.
With my time with Mark Lanegan, the six years we spent creatively were some of the best times of my life, with some of my favorite music I’ve ever done. So, I have been blessed with that kind of experience.
Is there anybody you’d like to collaborate with that you haven’t gotten to yet?
Jimmy Page.
Musically, who are your biggest influences?
It’s as simple as Led Zeppelin or the Stones. But also, The Damned, Prince, The Temptations, and Neil Young.
Do you have any favorite covers that you have done?
Whigs wise, I would say “Love Crimes.” With Twilight Singers, my favorite cover ever was “Too Tough to Die” by Martina Topley-Bird. She’s fantastic. There’s nothing greater than discovering a whole new singer. The first time I heard her, she was great. The next time I went to England, we went out and had pizza and became pals. She’s a lovely human being, and I’m glad I got to know her.
With all the different experiences you’ve had with labels and such, is there any advice you would give a band or artist that’s making music and shopping it around?
I would do the same thing we did when we started. We made our own album with our own money, and then someone heard it and asked us to do a single. Then, the next thing you know, we’re on Sub Pop.
I’m not saying that’s going to happen to everybody, and it didn’t happen overnight either. We were a band for three years before we got signed to Sub Pop. There was a lot of work in between that. Nowadays, honestly, you can promote yourself in ways that we didn’t have. We didn’t have Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or all the social media outlets that people have now.
After 40 years of the Afghan Whigs, what would you like to do next?
Touring behind Soft Control is not close to being finished. Next summer, our album won’t be a year old, so we are going to play festivals in Europe. We’ll also probably go to South America, too. | Rob Levy
The Afghan Whigs play at Delmar Hall (6133 Delmar Blvd.) on Sunday, November 15 at 8:00 pm with Night Moves.The show is all ages, and tickets are $32 in advance or $35 day of show. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit thepageant.com or ticketmaster.com/. For more information on the Afghan Whigs, visit https://theafghanwhigs.com/.
