East coast trio Jukebox the Ghost surfaced in 2008, channeling a quirky, brainy power pop style shaped by influences such as Ben Folds, Queen, and They Might Be Giants. Mainstream traction arrived during the 2010s through the albums Everything Under the Sun, Safe Travels, Jukebox the Ghost, and Off to the Races, while the group extended its blend of ’70s stadium rock and piano-driven alt-pop on the exuberant 2022 release Cheers.
Pianist Ben Thornewill, guitarist Tommy Siegel, and drummer Jesse Kristin first united in 2003 during their undergraduate years at George Washington University. Initially performing as the Sunday Mail, they adopted the name Jukebox the Ghost in 2006. After completing their studies, the band issued its debut album Let Live & Let Ghosts before settling in Philadelphia.
Encouraged by favorable press, Jukebox the Ghost launched more extensive touring, beginning as support for Ben Folds and later sharing stages with Tally Hall, Jenny Owen Youngs, and Nightmare of You. By early 2010 the group had joined Yep Roc Records and entered the studio with producer Peter Katis, whose credits include work with Interpol and the National. Katis introduced a darker edge to the sound, leading to the September release of Everything Under the Sun. That same year brought a career highlight with an appearance on the David Letterman Show, followed by tours alongside Barenaked Ladies and Jack’s Mannequin, after which the band returned to recording for the 2012 album Safe Travels. In May 2014 Jukebox the Ghost issued the single “The Great Unknown,” preceding the self-titled fourth album later that autumn. The following year the trio moved to Cherrytree Records, an Interscope subsidiary, which prompted a reissue of the recent LP along with a new single: a cover of the Bangles’ “Walk Like an Egyptian” recorded with labelmates Secret Someones. Two singles—“Stay the Night” and “Boring”—appeared in 2017, with a third, “Everybody’s Lonely,” arriving in February 2018 ahead of Off to the Races, which reached number five on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart upon its March release. The buoyant stadium rocker “Cheers” surfaced in 2021, and the full-length album of the same name arrived the next year.
