Mae

Mae, whose full name stands for Multisensory Aesthetic Experience, surfaced from Norfolk, Virginia in 2005 bearing a style that blends alternative rock with emo-pop elements. Their sophomore release, The Everglow, registered solidly on the Billboard Top 200, paving the way for a 2007 shift from Tooth & Nail to Capitol Records. After issuing three EPs across 2009 and 2010, the group entered an extended pause, interrupted only by sporadic reunion shows, before resurfacing permanently in 2018 via their fourth full-length effort, Multisensory Aesthetic Experience.

Guitarist Matt Beck, drummer Jacob Marshall, bassist Mark Padgett, keyboardist Rob Sweitzer, and vocalist Dave Elkins assembled the lineup in early 2001. Elkins and Marshall, both Old Dominion University attendees in Norfolk, Virginia, initiated the project, which expanded into a five-piece after studio time at Padgett’s home facility introduced additional local players. Within roughly eight months the ensemble had refined its approach, performed regionally alongside acts such as the Movielife, River City High, and the Exit, and documented material for the Tooth & Nail-issued debut Destination: Beautiful, which arrived in early 2003.

Matt Beck departed amid promotion of Destination: Beautiful and was succeeded by Zach Gehring, previously of Unsung Zeroes. Destination: B-Sides appeared near the close of 2004, followed in 2005 by the second studio album The Everglow; strong fan support and a Warped Tour slot helped it reach number 51 on the Billboard 200. Early 2006 brought participation in the Virgin College Mega Tour with Over It and Yellowcard, while an expanded version of The Everglow, featuring extra tracks and a bonus DVD, surfaced that April. After their Tooth & Nail agreement concluded, the band signed with Capitol, though both Sweitzer and Padgett exited before the 2007 major-label outing Singularity, which entered the Top 40 after moving approximately 17,000 copies in its opening week. Capitol parted ways with the group in 2008, prompting an independent path that began with the (m)orning EP, later distributed broadly by Cell Records in September 2009. (a)fternoon followed swiftly, and (e)vening completed the trilogy in 2010. Sweitzer and Padgett rejoined shortly thereafter for the extended Goodbye, Goodnight tour spanning Europe and Japan. A short 2013 gathering marked the tenth anniversary of Destination: Beautiful, while a 2015 reunion celebrated the corresponding milestone for The Everglow. The three EPs were collected as the full-length (M)(A)(E) on Cell Records in 2017, and the band returned to Tooth & Nail for the 2018 album Multisensory Aesthetic Experience.