White Reaper

Equally inspired by guitar-fueled garage rock and vintage power pop, White Reaper formed in 2012 in Louisville, Kentucky. High school students Tony Esposito and Nick Wilkerson released two homemade demos and one 7-inch record as a duo, then expanded the band's lineup with bassist Sam Wilkerson and keyboardist Ryan Hater. The quartet signed with Polyvinyl Records in 2014 and released a punky debut album, White Reaper Does It Again, in 2015. Hunter Thompson joined the lineup in 2016 as White Reaper's second guitarist, and the band began restructuring its sound to include more pop hooks and dense, driving guitar lines. The musical makeover proved to be revitalizing, and White Reaper reached Number 7 on the Top Heatseekers chart with the band's second album, The World's Best American Band, in 2017. After touring with Billy Idol and Weezer, the band signed with Elektra Records and began working on a third studio album with producer Jay Joyce. The result, You Deserve Love, was released in 2019, marking the group's major-label debut. "Might Be Right," the album's lead single, became a Number 1 hit on Billboard's Alternative Airplay chart the following year. A second single, "Real Long Time," reached Number 19 on the same chart. After appearing on the Metallica tribute album, The Metallica Blacklist, in 2021, the group began working on a follow-up release to You Deserve Love. Asking for a Ride, White Reaper's fourth studio album, was released in January 2023 and ranked number 11 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart. In June 2024, the Wilkersons announced simultaneously their departure from the band and were not replaced for the recording of the fifth full-length Only Slightly Empty, issued in September 2025.