Biography
Harry and the Potters emerged in 2002 as originators of wizard rock, a strain of family-friendly indie rock rooted in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books. Their self-titled debut album from 2003 swiftly earned them devoted followings among both readers and music fans. Subsequent EPs arrived in the form of Scarred for Life in 2006 and In the Cupboard in 2008, while the 2010 collection A Wizardly Christmas of Wizardry offered another specialized release. The band’s fourth studio album, Lumos, appeared in 2019 during the Fantastic Beasts period. Beyond recording, brothers Paul DeGeorge and Joe DeGeorge established the Harry Potter Alliance, a coalition of wizard rock acts dedicated to supporting charities and spurring fan involvement in social causes.
The group took shape in Norwood, Massachusetts, when Paul DeGeorge organized an impromptu backyard show to highlight acts on his Eskimo Laboratories imprint. After every scheduled band withdrew, he composed several Potter-themed numbers on short notice and enlisted his brother Joe for the performance. The spontaneous set proved popular enough that the siblings chose to expand the idea into a full project. They adopted stage identities aligned with their ages—Joe embodying Harry in Year 4 and Paul portraying the character in Year 7—while adopting Hogwarts-student attire of crewneck sweaters, ties, and glasses.
Initial shows remained limited to nearby venues. Following the 2003 self-titled album, the pair toured across the United States and Canada in 2004 and issued their second album, Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock. A 2005 visit brought several U.K. performances, and 2006 saw the release of the third album Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love alongside the Scarred for Life EP. The Enchanted Ceiling EP surfaced in 2007, succeeded by In the Cupboard the next year. In 2009 the two-disc rarities compilation Priori Incantatem appeared, together with the live EP Harry and the Potters at the Yule Ball, issued in both audio and video editions. The holiday set A Wizardly Christmas of Wizardry reached listeners in time for Christmas 2010.
After the final film of the original series reached theaters in 2011, Harry and the Potters delivered Live at the New York Public Library that June. The same year they cut the two-track single Hedwig Lives with Mike Bridavsky (Lil BUB, FAWNN), which surfaced in April 2015. Drawing on material from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the band returned in 2019 with Lumos—their first studio album in thirteen years—via Charming Records; the record featured Kimya Dawson portraying Hermione Granger on the duet “Where’s Ron.”
The group took shape in Norwood, Massachusetts, when Paul DeGeorge organized an impromptu backyard show to highlight acts on his Eskimo Laboratories imprint. After every scheduled band withdrew, he composed several Potter-themed numbers on short notice and enlisted his brother Joe for the performance. The spontaneous set proved popular enough that the siblings chose to expand the idea into a full project. They adopted stage identities aligned with their ages—Joe embodying Harry in Year 4 and Paul portraying the character in Year 7—while adopting Hogwarts-student attire of crewneck sweaters, ties, and glasses.
Initial shows remained limited to nearby venues. Following the 2003 self-titled album, the pair toured across the United States and Canada in 2004 and issued their second album, Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock. A 2005 visit brought several U.K. performances, and 2006 saw the release of the third album Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love alongside the Scarred for Life EP. The Enchanted Ceiling EP surfaced in 2007, succeeded by In the Cupboard the next year. In 2009 the two-disc rarities compilation Priori Incantatem appeared, together with the live EP Harry and the Potters at the Yule Ball, issued in both audio and video editions. The holiday set A Wizardly Christmas of Wizardry reached listeners in time for Christmas 2010.
After the final film of the original series reached theaters in 2011, Harry and the Potters delivered Live at the New York Public Library that June. The same year they cut the two-track single Hedwig Lives with Mike Bridavsky (Lil BUB, FAWNN), which surfaced in April 2015. Drawing on material from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the band returned in 2019 with Lumos—their first studio album in thirteen years—via Charming Records; the record featured Kimya Dawson portraying Hermione Granger on the duet “Where’s Ron.”
Albums
Singles
