The Academic
Originally from Killucan in Westmeath County, The Academic are Craig Fitzgerald, Dean Gavin and brothers Matthew and Stephen Murtagh.
After debuting with the EP “Loose Friends” in 2015, The Academic quickly attracted attention, filling Dublin’s Vicar Street and representing Ireland at the Eurosonic Noorderslag festival. Their first album, “Tales from the Backseat” (2018), debuted at No. 1 on the Irish charts and led the band to perform on international tours, with sold-out concerts and an Album of the Year nomination at the Choice Music Prize.
In 2020, they signed with Capitol Records, and in February 2023, they released “Sitting Pretty,” an album mixing indie pop and classic rock that immediately jumped to the top of the charts. Produced by Nick Hodgson of the Kaiser Chiefs at Snap Studios in London, the album sees the band take their writing to the next level with a selection of indie pop songs influenced by classic rock. Prominent among the pieces is the single “Pushing Up Daisies.”
They opened Louis Tomlinson’s concerts on his North American tour and were chosen to perform during Joe Biden’s visit to Ireland.
HOVOC APS AND INFO MEMBERSHIP
Admission is reserved for HOVOC 25/26 registered members.The card is valid for the entire 2025/2026 season, fill in the online form (pre-membership/covoclub) and collect the card at the entrance by paying the annual fee of €5.
HOW TO GET HERE
NEW NIGHT BUSES
During the weekend there the new night lines are available, to move around Bologna and its surroundings throughout the night (with departures every half hour!).
Get on board the N3 line and arrive at Covo (and go home!) whenever you want, wherever you live.
IF YOU ARRIVE BY CAR...
In this period (and for a long time) it is possible that in this area there'll be construction work that limit the availability of parking spots nearby. If you cannot find a parking space in viale Zagabria, we recommend looking in the following streets: Kharkov, della Campagna, Francoforte, Machiavelli.