Biography
Essentially the solo endeavor of Fort Worth native Bryce Avary, the Rocket Summer built a devoted audience through its melodic, optimistic power pop. Active since the early 2000s and shaped by an array of sources ranging from alt rock, R&B, and emo-pop to the speculative fiction of Ray Bradbury, Avary has delivered a succession of favorably received LPs such as Calendar Days in 2003, the 2010 Of Men and Angels that reached the Billboard 200 Top 40, the electronic-leaning Zoetic in 2016, and the buoyant and stylistically diverse Shadowkasters in 2023.
Raised in Fort Worth, Bryce Avary took up guitar near age 12 and later joined an indie/punk outfit during his teenage years that drew from acts including Pavement, Weezer, and Radiohead. Upon completing high school he began attracting notice for his emotionally charged solo acoustic sets, a style that carried into his first two EPs under the Rocket Summer name. In 2002 he signed with the Militia Group and issued the Calendar Days full-length, on which he performed every instrument while presenting his rich, multi-layered, exuberant sound that merged alt-rock and emo elements with allusions to his Christian faith.
The Tim O'Heir-produced Hello, Good Friend appeared in 2005. By then the Rocket Summer had established a name for both Avary's multi-instrumental prowess in the studio and the high-energy concerts mounted by him and his band. Militia re-released his debut self-titled EP in November 2006 under the new title The Early Years EP; its initial pressing of 1,000 copies had sold out after Avary recorded and put it out at age 16 (circa 1999-2000). An EP surfaced in early 2007, and after signing with Island/Def Jam Records Avary put out his third album, Do You Feel.
A four-song EP containing songs later featured on the band's fourth album arrived in 2009. Of Men and Angels, released the following year, entered the Top 40. The Rocket Summer resurfaced in 2012 with Life Will Write the Words, the first title on Avary's own Aviate imprint; another strong critical and commercial performer, it bowed at number 58 on the Billboard Top 200. Beyond a short Christmas EP issued in 2013, Avary focused primarily on preparing his subsequent LP. The Rocket Summer's sixth album, Zoetic, which introduced electronic textures to his palette, emerged in February 2016. A seventh album, Sweet Shivers, followed in 2019 and featured the streaming hit "Shatter Us," while the compilation Bee Sides: Select Rarities 2015-2020 came out the next year. Cut in seclusion amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Shadowkasters in 2023 presented an inventive collection spanning dancehall, electronica, and grunge to folk and country.
Raised in Fort Worth, Bryce Avary took up guitar near age 12 and later joined an indie/punk outfit during his teenage years that drew from acts including Pavement, Weezer, and Radiohead. Upon completing high school he began attracting notice for his emotionally charged solo acoustic sets, a style that carried into his first two EPs under the Rocket Summer name. In 2002 he signed with the Militia Group and issued the Calendar Days full-length, on which he performed every instrument while presenting his rich, multi-layered, exuberant sound that merged alt-rock and emo elements with allusions to his Christian faith.
The Tim O'Heir-produced Hello, Good Friend appeared in 2005. By then the Rocket Summer had established a name for both Avary's multi-instrumental prowess in the studio and the high-energy concerts mounted by him and his band. Militia re-released his debut self-titled EP in November 2006 under the new title The Early Years EP; its initial pressing of 1,000 copies had sold out after Avary recorded and put it out at age 16 (circa 1999-2000). An EP surfaced in early 2007, and after signing with Island/Def Jam Records Avary put out his third album, Do You Feel.
A four-song EP containing songs later featured on the band's fourth album arrived in 2009. Of Men and Angels, released the following year, entered the Top 40. The Rocket Summer resurfaced in 2012 with Life Will Write the Words, the first title on Avary's own Aviate imprint; another strong critical and commercial performer, it bowed at number 58 on the Billboard Top 200. Beyond a short Christmas EP issued in 2013, Avary focused primarily on preparing his subsequent LP. The Rocket Summer's sixth album, Zoetic, which introduced electronic textures to his palette, emerged in February 2016. A seventh album, Sweet Shivers, followed in 2019 and featured the streaming hit "Shatter Us," while the compilation Bee Sides: Select Rarities 2015-2020 came out the next year. Cut in seclusion amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Shadowkasters in 2023 presented an inventive collection spanning dancehall, electronica, and grunge to folk and country.
Albums
Singles
