As It Is founding member exits band, group announces ‘going-away’ tour

As It Is may be down a member going into 2020, but they’re going to make sure to give him one hell of a going-away celebration.

On Monday (Sept. 9), the British band announced the departure of founding member and longtime guitarist Ben Langford-Biss. The news came on the same day that the group was supposed to make a huge announcement. Considering the impact Langford-Biss’ departure will have on the future of the band, it was definitely a massive reveal.

After releasing a saddening (and lengthy) letter from Langford-Biss, the remaining members made it known that they weren’t going to let the guitarist leave so easily.

Instead, they’ll honor his decision to walk away by embarking on one final tour. Dubbed the “Ben Today, Gone Tomorrow” tour, the November-centric journey will find the group performing at venues across Europe.

The tour will begin on Nov. 4 at the Baroeg in Rotterdam and conclude a couple of weeks later on Nov. 15 at Dingwalls in London. The outing will act as both Langford-Biss’ final trek and a tour in support of their recently released record, The Great Depression.

Tickets for the newly announced shows go on sale this Wednesday, Sept. 11, at 9 a.m. local time.

As evident by the tour plans, there are no hard feeling between the remaining band members and Langford-Biss. The letter to fans reveals that the guitarist felt that it was time to “pursue other paths and projects” and that his passion for “music has waned.”

He jokes that even though he’s leaving “his brothers” after this difficult decision, he’s hopeful that “they’ll still let me guest when I undoubtedly ask for a guest list spot to a show.”

Read Langford-Biss’ letter to fans here.

Last week, the group teased that there was a massive announcement and that it would be “the end of an era.” For some fans, they speculated that the band would be dropping their current emo look that came with the release of The Great Depression and begin a new chapter in the band’s history book.

Well, it looks like they weren’t THAT off after all.