Originally from Cape Town, Africa, Civil Twilight formed as an alt-rock outfit whose impassioned vocals and stirring songcraft drew comparisons to Muse, Pilot Speed, and similar groups. Brothers Andrew and Steven McKellar grew up in a musical home, where they delved into their father’s jazz records early on and heard their classically trained mother perform on piano. Andrew started a teenaged band in November 1996 alongside his high school classmate, guitarist Richard Wouters. They planned their first rehearsal for the next month, yet Andrew soon learned that his younger brother Steven possessed both vocal ability and songwriting talent. The three then united as a unit, with Steven taking up the bass and Wouters setting aside guitar—also played by Andrew—to focus on drums instead.
Civil Twilight rehearsed for several years in neighborhood church halls and garages before moving into the local club circuit and earning respect there. Once their schooling ended, the musicians relocated to Los Angeles in August 2005. They soon joined the indie label One October, co-produced their debut album Human, and saw it issued in 2007. Tracks from the record gained further exposure through placements on prime-time series such as One Tree Hill, House, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. As visibility increased, the group shifted to Nashville and aligned with Wind-Up, which issued the band’s self-titled second album the following year. Performances alongside Evanescence and Three Days Grace, together with an appearance at the 2011 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, helped expand their audience. Road experience also reshaped their outlook and fueled the third album, Holy Weather, which appeared in spring 2012 after Kevin Dailey joined. In March 2015 the band issued the single “Story of an Immigrant,” drawn from the full-length of the same title that followed that June.
