Twenty One Pilots

After bonding over their shared musical creativity, Joseph and Salih decided to form a band. Before their first performance, Joseph invited Thomas to join.

The trio named itself Twenty One Pilots and began playing a variety of venues around Columbus. The band became known for its attention-grabbing costumes and on-stage antics. Joseph’s mother helped promote the shows by giving away tickets outside of Ohio State.

Twenty One Pilots released its debut, self-titled album independently in 2009, recording from the basement of the house where its members lived at the time. The album peaked at number 139 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 115,000 copies.

Just two years later, in 2011, Thomas and Salih left the group to focus on school and work, respectively. Twenty One Pilots became a duo, with Joseph on vocals and Josh Dun on drums. The new Twenty One Pilots self-released its second album, Regional at Best, that July. Just a few months later, the band played its first sold-out show at Newport Music Hall, catching the attention of several record labels. The band then embarked on the Regional at Best Tour alongside the rock band Challenger, documenting the journey on YouTube.

In April 2012, Twenty One Pilots announced a deal with Fueled by Ramen, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. The band released its first record under the label, an EP titled Three Songs, in July. The next month, the band joined Neon Trees and Walk the Moon on tour.

Twenty One Pilots’ third album dropped in January 2013. Vessel climbed to number 21 on the Billboard 200 charts and number 10 in the Alternative Albums Chart. The single, “Holding on to You,” became the band’s first charting single and reached number 11 on the Billboard Alternatives Songs charts.

Later that year, Twenty One Pilots joined Panic! at the Disco as a supporting act on Fall Out Boy’s Save Rock and Roll Arena Tour. The band continued to tour and play festivals throughout 2014.

In March 2015, Twenty One Pilots announced its upcoming album, Blurryface. The third single, “Stressed Out,” dropped that April. It peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and became the band’s biggest-selling single. The music video was also a hit, surpassing 2.5 billion views on YouTube.

Blurryface was released in May 2015 and became a breakout success. It was the band’s first number-one album, selling 134,000 copies in the first week. It’s also the first album ever to have every single track certified at least Gold by the RIAA. Blurryface won Top Rock Album at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards. Twenty One Pilots also took home the award for Top Rock Artist that year.

Twenty One Pilots’ popularity continued to surge throughout 2016. In June, the duo released “Heathens,” a song for the DC Comics film Suicide Squad. The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This made Twenty One Pilots the third artist after The Beatles and Elvis Presley to have two Top 5 singles charting at the same time.

Since the success of Blurryface, Twenty One Pilots has released two more albums. Trench dropped in 2018, followed by Scaled and Icy in 2021. The latter is the band’s first album to feature Joseph’s younger brother Jay, who performs vocals on three tracks. Both albums were received positively by critics and fans alike. In 2022, Twenty One Pilots took the show on the road with The Icy Tour, to promote and support Scaled and Icy in North America.

Be sure to catch the band live on their newly announced Bandito world tour as well.

Led by Ben Gibbard (vocals/guitar), Death Cab for Cutie began as Gibbard's solo project, undertaken whilst studying at university in Washington, offering a break from his involvement in the power pop band Pinwheel. Gibbard recorded an album's worth of material in 1997, which eventually found release as a cassette, "You Can Play These Songs With Chords." The release found local popularity, with Gibbard deciding to expand the lineup into a full band. Death Cab for Cutie was then born, before signing to Seattle-based label, Barsuk Recrds, the following year.

Their debut album, "Something About Airplanes," was released in 1998, after which a short break ensued, with Gibbard becoming involved with the Postal Service. In 2000, new material arrived, in "We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes," with their third, "The Photo Album" appearing a year later, building a sizable following in the process. Their emotional yet hook-laden indie rock continued to find success, with 2003's "Transatlanticism" gaining critical praise and mainstream airplay on radio and television. Atlantic Records then snapped up the band, with Death Cab for Cutie signing a major label deal in 2004.

"Plans" became their major label debut, debuting at number four on the Billboard charts. The album eventually became certified Platinum, gaining three hit singles and a Grammy nomination by the end of the year. Continuing to tour and release well-received albums, Death Cab for Cutie became one of the most popular indie bands of the decade. After a short break, the band returned in 2011 with renewed focus, finding a number three album in "Codes and Keys." In 2012, Gibbard released his first solo album, "Former Lives," before his band began work on their eighth album, "Kintsugi," for a release of March 2015.