Eli Young Band

Energetic, alternative country rebel rousers Eli Young Band create a brand of hard-partying, heart-on-sleeve, Texan pop equally influenced by the glitzy showmanship of Garth Brooks and the worldly, driving, stadium rock of Bruce Springsteen. Formed in 2000 by college roommates Mike Eli and James Young and fellow University of North Texas students Jon Jones and Chris Thompson, they were spotted supporting Miranda Lambert by producer Frank Lidell and signed to his independent label Carnival Records for the albums Eli Young Band (2003) and Level (2005). A growing fan base, earned through constant gigging, exploded when their 2008 album Jet Black and Jealous made the US Top 30. The 2011 single “Crazy Girl” became a national hit, selling over 1.5 million downloads and “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” (2012) topped the country charts. Full of beer-stained ballads and rip-roaring country rock anthems, Life Is Best (2011) went on to reach number 4 in the US album charts and the band was named Breakthrough Artists of the Year at the MusicRow Awards. Their album 10,000 Towns (2014) reached number 1 on the Country Albums chart while also reaching number 5 on the Billboard 200. Their next album, 2017’s Fingerprints, was not as successful as their previous albums, only reaching number 17 on the Country Albums chart. In 2019, they released This is Eli Young Band: Greatest Hits, which landed just inside the Top 30 on the Country Albums chart at number 28. Five years after the release of Fingerprints, the group returned in 2022 with the studio album Love Talking. The following year, they released the single “Amy’s Back in Austin” featuring George Birge. In 2024 followed four non-album singles, including "Home in Hometown" and "Nothing on the Wild". Next releases "Strange Hours" and "Pretty Good Day for the Bar" were included in the eighth full-length Strange Hours, issued in August 2025.