On September 15th, 2025, Vampire Weekend opened their four-day residency at The Wellmont Theater in Montclair, with a bang. A total of almost 12,000 people came to see the esteemed American rock band’s first return to New Jersey in 17 years. Many audience members were established fans, but some came simply to see the band’s lead singer and guitarist, Ezra Koenig, a local hero in neighboring Glen Ridge.
Prior to his years in Vampire Weekend, Ezra attended Glen Ridge High School. He was an exceptional student musically and played the alto saxophone and percussion. He took band class and participated in marching band, jazz band, and percussion ensemble. Ezra also took part in many of the school plays. Dr. Darren Gage, Erza’s former drama club and percussion advisor (now the high school band director), said that he “was very intelligent and extremely creative. He would see things in a different way than other students or think about things in a different way than his classmates.” Although Ezra’s creativity was extraordinary, Dr. Gage said that it was his motivation and willingness to perfect things that truly led him to his success.
After graduating from GRHS in 2002, Ezra continued to attend Columbia University in NYC, where he met the other original members of Vampire Weekend: Rostam Batmanglij, Chris Tomson, and Chris Baio. They first debuted as a group at the Battle of the Bands on the Columbia campus in 2006 with the song “L’Homme Run”. The performance was a hit, and they began to do shows across the campus before self-producing a handful of singles throughout 2007. One of the songs they developed, “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa,” skyrocketed them to fame. Rolling Stone listed it as 67th on the “100 Best Songs of the Year.” Vampire Weekend went on tour a few times before they released their first official album titled Vampire Weekend in 2008. That same year, they were deemed “The Year’s Best New Band” by Spin Magazine and made their first appearance on Saturday Night Live.
Vampire Weekend continued to release 3 more mainstream albums: Contra in 2010, Modern Vampires of the City in 2013, and Father of the Bride in 2018. Rostam Batmanglij left the group in early 2016 to focus on his individual career; however, he continues to make periodic contributions to Vampire Weekend songs. The remaining group members finally signed with Columbia Records in 2018. They ended up winning two Grammys under the Best Alternative Music Album category for Modern Vampires of the City and Father of the Bride.
Their most recent album, Only God is Above Us, was released in 2024. Its world tour kicked off in Austin, Texas. From there, they proceeded to play at venues such as Red Rocks, Hollywood Bowl, and Madison Square Garden. Vampire Weekend also made an appearance at Coachella, marking their fourth performance there (they also played at Coachella in 2008, 2010, and 2013). Their tour led them to the Wellmont Theater, ending the band’s 17-year absence in New Jersey.
The opening act of each Wellmont show was a special reunion of Ezra Koenig and his high school band from Glen Ridge. It was called Sophisticuffs and included him, Wes Miles from Ra Ra Riot, another rock band, and three others. They played five of their original songs before the actual show began, with Ezra, Chris Tomson, and Chris Baio alone onstage in front of a curtain reading “VAMPIRE WEEKEND.” They played fan favorites like “M79,” “Diane Young,” and “Unbelievers” to commence the nearly two and a half hour performances. The fourth song each night saw Ezra alone on stage for “Ice Cream Piano.” A minute into the song, the curtain dropped, and audience members were stunned as they were greeted by an 8-piece band, including Chris Tomson and Chris Baio. Vampire Weekend went on to play all their best songs with a fiddle solo in the middle of “Sympathy” and an extended piano in “Jerusalem, New York, Berlin.” By the end of each show, the crowd was sad to see the band go. However, Vampire Weekend had one last surprise in store for them.
“During the encore, the band solicited requests from the audience and played a short set of on-the-spot improvised cover songs,” said Mr. Paul Colahan, a Glen Ridge resident and attendee of the September 17th night. “One song was ‘Roadrunner’ by the Modern Lovers. That’s an old song by a Boston band, I’m old and from Boston, and in that moment with the band playing at home for the first time in a long time, I felt a connection to the performance that felt really special and is something I’ll remember for a long time.”
The announcement in June of the addition of the Wellmont Theater on Vampire Weekend’s list of stops was a welcome surprise for Northern New Jersey fans. “The idea for a Vampire Weekend Residency came entirely from the band,” said The Wellmont owner, Mr. David Genova, in an interview. “The band wanted to play some hometown shows, and…we were thrilled to help them execute their vision as they finished up their Arena and Festival Tour.”
As Mr. Genova went on to say, Vampire Weekend’s music is joyful and hopeful. This series of four high-energy concerts is not an experience that local fans will soon forget.
