Bleachers (band)
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Bleachers is an American rock band from New Jersey, formed in 2013 by musician Jack Antonoff. Antonoff was the only permanent member of the group until 2023, when longtime touring musicians Mikey Freedom Hart, Sean Hutchinson, Evan Smith, Michael Riddleberger, and Zem Audu became official members.
Bleachers' early music was heavily influenced by the late 1980s and early 1990s, plus the high school-based films of John Hughes while still using modern production techniques.
Their debut single "I Wanna Get Better" was released in February 2014, followed by five studio albums: Strange Desire (2014), Gone Now (2017), Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night (2021), Bleachers (2024), and a re-recording of their debut album, titled, A Stranger Desired (2024).
Career
2013–2016: Origins and Strange Desire
While on the road with his band, Fun, musician Jack Antonoff began working on a new project during his time in different cities. For about a year he kept the project a secret until February 18, 2014, when the first single "I Wanna Get Better" was released along with the launch of Bleachers' website, social media profiles, and a selection of tour dates. News of Bleachers was first publicly announced in a Facebook post by Brooklyn music studio Mission Sound in May 2013.
About making the first Bleachers album, Antonoff said, "I spent the past year working on the music but not talking about it, and eventually it became this psychotic alter-ego situation, where it was second nature to have this part of me that no one knew about. Except for a small group of people, most of which happened to be members of my immediate family, no one was aware that this music, or this album even existed... even though it existed so deeply to me." Antonoff also stated that Bleachers was never meant to be a departure from his position in Fun., and that he will remain in the band.
Bleachers' debut album Strange Desire was released July 10, 2014, from RCA Records. Variance Magazine called the single "Rollercoaster" a "brilliant summer anthem". Bleachers went on their debut Come Alive! tour, which features Night Terrors of 1927 and Joywave as opening acts, from March to April 2015. From there, they went on the Strange Desire World Tour from July to November of that same year. They juggled this with the Charli and Jack Do America Tour, a tour co-headlined by Bleachers and Charli XCX.
On September 25, 2015, Bleachers released Terrible Thrills, Vol. 2, a sequel to Strange Desire. The album contained songs from Strange Desire being covered by numerous female artists with modified tunes. When asked about the album, Antonoff told Billboard “I hear my songs being sung by females before I change them and make them into my voice. The whole heart of this idea is for people to hear the album the way I hear it in my head, reinterpreted by the artists who sort of inspired it to be written in the first place.” Covers were contributed from artists such as Sara Bareilles, Charli XCX, and Sia. The band appeared as the fictional band Baby Goya and The Nuclear Winters in the 2015 film Hello, My Name Is Doris.
2017–2019: Gone Now and Love, Simon
Bleachers' second album Gone Now was released June 2, 2017. Its lead single "Don't Take the Money" has been described by Atwood Magazine as "an epic uplifting pop-rock anthem ultimately about how when love is real, its worth everything that comes along with it". In celebration of the album release, he brought his childhood bedroom on tour with him. He had it dismantled and rebuilt inside of a portable trailer. During May and June concerts, fans could enter the "moving, living art exhibit" and listen to the album prior to its official release. Antonoff explained in a press release, saying "when I thought about where this album was coming from and what it’s kissing goodbye I thought of this room. I wished I could play the album for people who care about Bleachers in this space that it is coming from and leaving." The band was on its Gone Now Era: Part 1 tour from September to November 2017. The tour featured Tove Styrke, Bishop Briggs, and Tangerine as openers.
In September 2017, Bleachers performed on MTV Unplugged at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey. The live session was later released as an album, also entitled MTV Unplugged. The album features 11 tracks from both Gone Now and Strange Desire and was released November 10, 2017. Antonoff produced the soundtrack of Love, Simon, released on March 16, 2018. He contributed five songs, with four being credited to Bleachers—"Alfie's Song (Not So Typical Love Song)", "Rollercoaster", "Keeping a Secret", and "Wild Heart"— and one credited to his real name, a duet with MØ titled "Never Fall in Love". Throughout 2019, Bleachers released the third volume of Terrible Thrills in a series of four vinyl records, each featuring covers of songs from Gone Now by female artists as well as new demos by Bleachers.
2020–2022: Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night
In late 2019, Antonoff began recording the third Bleachers album. During this time the band embarked on a three-day "mini-tour" called the "I Love Making This Album but I'm Also Losing My Mind in Here & Need to Come Out and Play" Tour. On January 6, 2020, Antonoff announced on Twitter that a new Bleachers album would come within the year. In May, Bleachers was featured on Carly Rae Jepsen's song "Comeback" which was the first official release of the band in nearly two years.
On November 16, 2020, Bleachers released the first two singles from Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night, "45" and "Chinatown", the latter featuring Bruce Springsteen. The same day it was announced that the album would be released in 2021. "Stop Making This Hurt", the third single, was released on May 18, 2021. Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night was released on July 30. Bleachers announced a North American tour for Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night in May 2021. On October 28, Bleachers announced on Facebook that they will be performing two shows in March 2022 at Roadrunner, Boston dedicated to their first two albums: Strange Desire and Gone Now. On the January 15, 2022, episode of Saturday Night Live, which was hosted by Ariana DeBose, Bleachers replaced the originally scheduled Roddy Ricch.
Later that month they announced "The 2022 Tour" featuring openers August Ponthier, Blu DeTiger, The Lemon Twigs, Beabadoobee, Charly Bliss, and Wolf Alice. In November 2022, the band featured on a remix of Taylor Swift's "Anti-Hero".
2023–present: Bleachers and Everyone for Ten Minutes
Bleachers featured on Lana Del Rey's song "Margaret" from her album Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, released on March 24, 2023. In August 2023, the band signed a record deal with Dirty Hit and released the live album Live at Radio City Music Hall. On September 20, 2023, Bleachers released "Modern Girl" as the first single from their fourth studio album, referred to at the time as "B4" in promotional material. A music video for the song was released the same day. "Alma Mater" was released as the second single on November 15, and its music video was released on December 7. "Tiny Moves", the album's third single, was released on January 17, 2024. The fourth and final single from the album, "Me Before You", was released on February 22.
Bleachers' fourth studio album, titled Bleachers, was released on March 8, 2024. The album's 22-track deluxe edition was released on May 17, featuring eight additional songs. Bleachers explores themes of "love, marriage, grief, contentment, and maturity", mostly influenced by Antonoff's personal thoughts and experiences. On July 15, 2024, Antonoff announced on his social media that a "reimagined" version of Bleachers' debut album, Strange Desire, would be released under the title A Stranger Desired. The first single, "Wild Heart", was released on August 1, followed by the full album release on September 6.
The band kicked off their 2024 "From the Studio to the Stage" tour with a sold-out leg across the United Kingdom. The tour also featured shows throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan, including sold-out dates at Red Rocks Amphitheatre and their largest headline show to date at Madison Square Garden. On November 13, 2024, Bleachers released their single "Merry Christmas, Please Don't Call", two years after premiering it at the Ally Coalition Talent Show. It became their first song to reach the national chart of the United Kingdom, peaking at number 77. The band also released the continuous live album From the Studio to the Stage, featuring live recordings of "Margaret" (with Jeff Tweedy), "Me Before You", "Rollercoaster", "Tiny Moves" (with Carly Rae Jepsen), "Merry Christmas, Please Don't Call", "Royal Love", and "91". The group's fifth studio album, Everyone for Ten Minutes, is scheduled for release on May 22, 2026; its lead single, "You and Forever", was released on February 11.
Band members
Current
- Jack Antonoff – lead vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, programming, cello, synthesizers, samples (2014–present)
- Mikey Freedom Hart – guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, piano, bass guitar, backing vocals (2023–present; touring 2014–2023)
- Sean Hutchinson – drums, sampler, synthesizers, bass guitar, backing vocals (2023–present; touring 2014–2023)
- Evan Smith – keyboards, synthesizers, saxophone, flute, guitar, backing vocals (2023–present; touring 2014–2023)
- Mike Riddleberger – drums, sampler, keyboards, backing vocals (2023–present; touring 2016–2023)
- Zem Audu – keyboards, saxophone, guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals (2023–present; touring 2021–2023)
Former touring member
- Jon Shiffman – drums, sampler, backing vocals (2014–2015)
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Alt. | US Rock | AUS Hit. | BEL (FL) | CAN | NZ Heat | SCO | UK | UK Indie | ||
| Strange Desire | Released: July 10, 2014 (US) Label: RCA Formats: LP, CD, digital download, streaming | 11 | 2 | 2 | 10 | — | 19 | — | — | 186 | — |
| Gone Now | Released: June 2, 2017 (US) Label: RCA Formats: LP, CD, digital download, streaming | 44 | 6 | 9 | 9 | — | 92 | 6 | — | — | — |
| Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night | Released: July 30, 2021 (US) Label: RCA Formats: LP, CD, digital download, streaming | 27 | 3 | 3 | — | — | 69 | — | — | — | — |
| Bleachers | Released: March 8, 2024 Label: Bleachers Band Recordings, Dirty Hit Formats: LP, CD, cassette, digital download, streaming | 62 | 5 | 11 | — | 155 | — | — | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| A Stranger Desired | Released: September 6, 2024 Label: Bleachers Band Recordings, Dirty Hit | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 43 |
| Everyone for Ten Minutes | Released: May 22, 2026 Label: Bleachers Band Recordings, Dirty Hit Formats: LP, CD, cassette, digital download, streaming | To be released | |||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Live albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Current | US Alt. Sales | US Rock Sales | ||
| MTV Unplugged | Released: November 10, 2017 (US) Label: RCA Formats: LP, digital download, streaming | 87 | 21 | 45 |
| Live at Electric Lady | Release: November 4, 2021 Label: RCA Formats: digital download, streaming, LP | — | — | — |
| Live at Radio City | Released: August 25, 2023 Label: Bleachers Band Recordings, Dirty Hit Formats: digital download, streaming | — | — | — |
| Live from Madison Square Garden, NYC | Released: October 31, 2025 Label: Bleachers Band Recordings, Dirty Hit Formats: digital download, streaming, LP | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Compilation albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Terrible Thrills, Vol. 2 | Released: September 25, 2015 (US) Label: RCA Formats: LP, digital download, streaming |
| Terrible Thrills, Vol. 3 | Released: March 16, 2019 (US) Label: RCA Formats: 4 × 7-inch vinyl |
EPs
| Title | EP details |
|---|---|
| Spotify Sessions | Released: August 6, 2014 (US) Label: RCA Format: Streaming |
| Strange Desire: The Demos | Released: November 28, 2014 (US) Label: RCA Formats: CD, Digital download, LP |
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Bub. | US Adult | US Rock | CAN Rock | IRE | JPN | MEX Air. | NZ Hot | POR | UK | ||||
| "I Wanna Get Better" | 2014 | 1 | — | 10 | 21 | — | 81 | 49 | — | — | — | RIAA: Platinum | Strange Desire |
| "Shadow" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 43 | — | — | — | |||
| "Rollercoaster" | — | — | 19 | 27 | — | — | 47 | — | — | — | RIAA: Gold | ||
| "Like a River Runs" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Entropy" (with Grimes) | 2015 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Don't Take the Money" | 2017 | — | 22 | 12 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | — | RIAA: Gold | Gone Now |
| "Hate That You Know Me" | — | — | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Everybody Lost Somebody" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "I Miss Those Days" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Alfie's Song (Not So Typical Love Song)" | 2018 | — | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Love, Simon | |
| "45" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night | |
| "Chinatown" (featuring Bruce Springsteen) | — | — | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Stop Making This Hurt" | 2021 | — | 36 | 44 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "How Dare You Want More" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Dreamsicle" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "Modern Girl" | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Bleachers | |
| "Alma Mater" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Tiny Moves" | 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Me Before You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Merry Christmas, Please Don't Call" | — | — | 18 | — | 47 | — | — | 9 | 147 | 65 | Non-album single | ||
| "You and Forever" | 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Everyone for Ten Minutes | |
| "Dirty Wedding Dress" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "The Van" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Promotional singles
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Dear Prudence" (Beatles cover) | 2015 | Non-album promotional singles |
| "Jack HH" | 2017 | |
| "I Miss Those Days"(Live) | MTV Unplugged | |
| "At My Most Beautiful" (R.E.M. cover) | 2020 | Non-album promotional single |
| "Secret Life" (featuring Lana Del Rey) | 2021 | Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night |
Other charted songs
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Alt | US Rock | |||
| "Margaret" (Lana Del Rey featuring Bleachers) | 2023 | 18 | 43 | Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd |
Guest appearances
| Title | Year | Other Artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Alfie's Song (Not So Typical Love Song)" | 2018 | —N/a | Love, Simon (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) |
| "Keeping a Secret" | |||
| "Comeback" | 2020 | Carly Rae Jepsen | Dedicated Side B |
| "Instant Karma!" | 2022 | —N/a | Minions: Rise of Gru (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) |
| "Anti-Hero (Bleachers remix)" | 2022 | Taylor Swift | Non-album remix of a single |
| "Margaret" | 2023 | Lana Del Rey | Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd |
Notes
Tours
Headlining
- Strange Desire World Tour (2014)
- Come Alive! Tour (2015)
- Charli and Jack Do America Tour (with Charli XCX) (2015)
- Gone Now Era Tour (2017–2018)
- I Love Making This Album but I'm Also Losing My Mind in Here & Need to Come Out and Play Mini-Tour (2019)
- Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night Tour (2021)
- How Dare You Want Tour (2022)
- From The Studio To The Stage Tour (2024)
Opening
- Tour Four (with Paramore) (2018)
- At Their Very Best (2023, Finsbury Park)
External links
- at AllMusic