Bleachers

Biography

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×I Wanna Get Better18 February 2014 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1I Wanna Get Better3:24" was released in February 2014, followed by five studio albums: Strange Desire×Strange Desire11 July 2014 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Wild Heart3:212Rollercoaster3:083Shadow3:514I Wanna Get Better3:265Wake Me2:456Reckless Love3:027Take Me Away2:308Like a River Runs3:349You're Still a Mystery4:2410I'm Ready to Move On / Wild Heart Reprise4:1111Who I Want You to Love4:51 (2014), Gone Now×Gone Now2 June 2017 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Dream of Mickey Mantle3:102Goodmorning3:133Hate That You Know Me3:064Don’t Take the Money3:365Everybody Lost Somebody3:556All My Heroes3:047Let’s Get Married3:068Goodbye2:579I Miss Those Days3:3810Nothing Is U2:3211I’m Ready to Move On / Mickey Mantle (reprise)4:2412Foreign Girls4:02 (2017), Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night×Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night30 July 2021 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1913:002Chinatown4:043How Dare You Want More4:004Big Life2:305Secret Life3:076Stop Making This Hurt3:207Don’t Go Dark4:048453:249Strange Behavior3:0610What’d I Do With All This Faith?3:18 (2021), Bleachers (2024), and Everyone for Ten Minutes (2026). The band has also released a re-recording of their debut album, titled, A Stranger Desired×A Stranger Desired6 September 2024 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Wild Heart2:392Rollercoaster3:003Shadow4:184I Wanna Get Better3:345Wake Me2:506Reckless Love2:317Take Me Away1:478Like a River Runs3:539You’re Still a Mystery3:1310I’m Ready to Move On / Wild Heart Reprise3:5111Who I Want You to Love3:48 (2024)

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×I Wanna Get Better18 February 2014 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1I Wanna Get Better3:24" 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×Strange Desire11 July 2014 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Wild Heart3:212Rollercoaster3:083Shadow3:514I Wanna Get Better3:265Wake Me2:456Reckless Love3:027Take Me Away2:308Like a River Runs3:349You're Still a Mystery4:2410I'm Ready to Move On / Wild Heart Reprise4:1111Who I Want You to Love4:51 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×Gone Now2 June 2017 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Dream of Mickey Mantle3:102Goodmorning3:133Hate That You Know Me3:064Don’t Take the Money3:365Everybody Lost Somebody3:556All My Heroes3:047Let’s Get Married3:068Goodbye2:579I Miss Those Days3:3810Nothing Is U2:3211I’m Ready to Move On / Mickey Mantle (reprise)4:2412Foreign Girls4:02 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×MTV Unplugged10 November 2017 · Album · LiveSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Let’s Get Married (MTV Unplugged)3:032All My Heroes (MTV Unplugged)3:313Everybody Lost Somebody (MTV Unplugged)4:084Rollercoaster (MTV Unplugged)3:195Goodmorning (MTV Unplugged)3:306Hate That You Know Me (MTV Unplugged)3:227Shadow (MTV Unplugged)3:328Don’t Take the Money (MTV Unplugged)3:279I Miss Those Days (MTV Unplugged)3:5410Nothing Is U (MTV Unplugged)2:5111I Wanna Get Better (MTV Unplugged)4:43. The album features 11 tracks from both Gone Now and Strange Desire×Strange Desire11 July 2014 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Wild Heart3:212Rollercoaster3:083Shadow3:514I Wanna Get Better3:265Wake Me2:456Reckless Love3:027Take Me Away2:308Like a River Runs3:349You're Still a Mystery4:2410I'm Ready to Move On / Wild Heart Reprise4:1111Who I Want You to Love4:51 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×Wild Heart2 August 2024 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Wild Heart2:39"— 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×Chinatown16 November 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Chinatown4:08", the latter featuring Bruce Springsteen. The same day it was announced that the album would be released in 2021. "Stop Making This Hurt×Stop Making This Hurt18 May 2021 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Stop Making This Hurt3:20", 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×Strange Desire11 July 2014 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Wild Heart3:212Rollercoaster3:083Shadow3:514I Wanna Get Better3:265Wake Me2:456Reckless Love3:027Take Me Away2:308Like a River Runs3:349You're Still a Mystery4:2410I'm Ready to Move On / Wild Heart Reprise4:1111Who I Want You to Love4:51 and Gone Now×Gone Now2 June 2017 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Dream of Mickey Mantle3:102Goodmorning3:133Hate That You Know Me3:064Don’t Take the Money3:365Everybody Lost Somebody3:556All My Heroes3:047Let’s Get Married3:068Goodbye2:579I Miss Those Days3:3810Nothing Is U2:3211I’m Ready to Move On / Mickey Mantle (reprise)4:2412Foreign Girls4:02. 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×Live at Radio City Music Hall25 August 2023 · Album · LiveSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 21 tracks1911:572Dream of Mickey Mantle2:303Wild Heart4:444How Dare You Want More4:215Big Life4:086I Miss Those Days3:547Everybody Lost Somebody4:178Goodmorning3:159All My Heroes6:3610Chinatown4:1511Don’t Go Dark5:0612Juno Interlude3:3713Rollercoaster3:2614Let’s Get Married3:2615The Whole of the Moon4:3816I’m Ready to Move On / Wild Heart Reprise6:3917455:2718You’re Still a Mystery10:1619I Wanna Get Better4:0020Don’t Take the Money4:1821Stop Making This Hurt5:37. On September 20, 2023, Bleachers released "Modern Girl×Modern Girl20 September 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Modern Girl3:43" 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×Alma Mater15 November 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Alma Mater3:302Modern Girl3:43" was released as the second single on November 15, and its music video was released on December 7. "Tiny Moves×Tiny Moves17 January 2024 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Tiny Moves3:482Alma Mater3:303Modern Girl3:43", the album's third single, was released on January 17, 2024. The fourth and final single from the album, "Me Before You×Me Before You21 February 2024 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Me Before You3:242Tiny Moves3:483Alma Mater3:304Modern Girl3:43", 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×Strange Desire11 July 2014 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Wild Heart3:212Rollercoaster3:083Shadow3:514I Wanna Get Better3:265Wake Me2:456Reckless Love3:027Take Me Away2:308Like a River Runs3:349You're Still a Mystery4:2410I'm Ready to Move On / Wild Heart Reprise4:1111Who I Want You to Love4:51, would be released under the title A Stranger Desired×A Stranger Desired6 September 2024 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Wild Heart2:392Rollercoaster3:003Shadow4:184I Wanna Get Better3:345Wake Me2:506Reckless Love2:317Take Me Away1:478Like a River Runs3:539You’re Still a Mystery3:1310I’m Ready to Move On / Wild Heart Reprise3:5111Who I Want You to Love3:48. The first single, "Wild Heart×Wild Heart2 August 2024 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Wild Heart2:39", 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×everyone for ten minutes22 May 2026 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1sideways3:272the van2:583we should talk3:054you and forever3:555dirty wedding dress4:496take you out tonight4:297i can’t believe you’re gone3:268dancing3:149she’s from before2:5710i’m not joking3:5511upstairs at els3:08, was released on May 22, 2026; its lead single, "You and Forever×you and forever11 February 2026 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1you and forever3:55", was released on February 11. On August 28, 2026, Bruce Springsteen joined the band onstage at the The Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury Park, New Jersey for a cover of Tom Waits' Jersey Girl and the song Chinatown,earlier that day, New Jersey Transit Rail announced a renaming of the "North Jersey Coast Line" to the "Bleachers Coast Line."

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)

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)
Bleachers Forever World Tour (2026)

Opening

Tour Four (with Paramore) (2018)
At Their Very Best (2023, Finsbury Park)