The Maine is working on a new album — in between surprising Jonas Brothers fans, that is.
“There’s still a lot to be discovered,” the group’s singer, John O’Callaghan, told Us Weekly exclusively at the “LadyGang” podcast’s LadyWorld Festival in Florida on Friday, September 26. “We are in the studio right now, and we’re pretty deep in the process.”
O’Callaghan, 37, and the band’s guitarist Jared Monaco teased that they “have a lot to say” about new music but are staying tight-lipped for now. (The upcoming record will be a milestone 10th album for the band.)
“This little break that we have right now is nice to put some distance between us and what we’ve been toiling over. I’m excited to have that space and then revisit when we get back home,” O’Callaghan continued. “It’ll be out sometime next year, for sure.”
Monaco, also 37, quipped that they were “trying to be vague” but wanted to spill some tea.
What the duo didn’t tell Us was their plan to take the stage with Nick, Joe and Kevin Jonas for the Greetings From Your Hometown tour date in Phoenix (where The Maine was founded) on Monday, September 29, at the PHX Arena.
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O’Callaghan and Monaco took the stage alongside the band’s guitarist Kennedy Brock, bassist Garrett Nickelsen and drummer Pat Kirch to perform “Black Butterflies and Déjà Vu” from their 2017 album, Lovely Little Lonely.
Their surprise appearance at the Jonas Brothers show came days after The Maine played at LadyWorld on Friday in support of Monaco’s wife, Jac Vanek.
“Having known Jac since 2007, it’s really cool to be just a fan here,” O’Callaghan said. “I feel like it helps me appreciate what we have more, if that makes any sense. Like, it helps me appreciate our community. It’s been really special, and [I] couldn’t be more excited to be a part of it.”
Vanek is one-third of the “LadyGang” podcast, which is also hosted by former E! News host Keltie Knight and Glee alum Becca Tobin. The trio hosted the LadyWorld festival for the first time this year to celebrate 10 years of their podcast, which launched in 2015.
“They’ve been working on this for, like, two years,” Monaco told Us. “They’ve worked their asses off. It’s really cool to see it all come together, and we’re just stoked that we could be a part of it in a small way. The vibes are good.”
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The Maine is no stranger to the festival circuit (they’ve played Warped Tour, Sad Summer Festival and When We Were Young festivals, among others), so they treated their LadyWorld performance like every other show.
“I think you have to go into any festival assuming that nobody knows your material,” O’Callaghan explained. “I think that provides the perspective of like, we’re going into this assuming that everyone is either gonna hate us or is hearing us for the first time. We definitely mold [the setlist] so that it, hopefully, can appease.”
Monaco said they had a “leg up” for LadyWorld because “most” of the attendees had heard of their band before.
“There is something to playing the show as if it’s any other show that we would play. Because, at the end of the day, it’s important that you just are doing what you do. That’s why we’re here,” Monaco continued. “It’s a similar setlist to how we’ve been doing festivals recently. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think it’s a good thing.”
