This rock band that has sold millions of albums is now playing pop-up shows at house parties

Sometimes, just sometimes, we actually get a happy story. I’d love to write about the world’s largest marrow grown in Israel or Donald Trump breaking the high-jump record for charity, but the world’s not like that. However, we’ve got a nice one here: The All-American Rejects, in between their concert shows, have been trotting around the Midwest playing pop-up shows... at house parties. How lovely.

Formed in 1999 in Stillwater, Oklahoma, the band—comprising Tyson Ritter, Nick Wheeler, Mike Kennerty, and Chris Gaylor—rose to fame in the early 2000s with hits like “Swing, Swing,” “Move Along,” and “Gives You Hell.” After a period of relative inactivity, they have re-emerged, in the best way possible.

Their 2023 “Wet Hot All-American Summer Tour” marked their first headlining tour in a decade. While coming back ‘from the dead’ can be risky, the band sold over 200,000 tickets - people still love them.

‘Amazing’ secrets gigs capture fans

Frontman Tyson Ritter acknowledged that while fans often seek the familiar, the band remains open to exploring new creative avenues, calling it a “weird synchronistic happenstance of reactivity.”

“Of all the shows we played in the last ten years... this big wake-up call to the reality of, ‘Oh, this is why we started doing this.’”

One reddit user called the gig “amazing”, adding that ”The venue then had thousands of fans who couldn’t get in standing outside so all American rejects basically was stuck in there and hung out to take pics and tell everyone how sorry they where for the concert being cancelled. Also while I sat in that bar listening to all American rejects I realized the BBQ joint took over an old bar rescue location."

Another commented that “it was a blast and tons of people showed up. I think they’re just having fun, honestly. And they can do this for fun because they’ve made their money. No pressure to sell tickets, no big tour to produce. Just bopping around the country playing house shows and having fun. I honestly love to see it."

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