- Pop rock band formed in 2006 from Cincinnati Ohio. The founding members were Nicholas Petricca (lead vocals, keyboards, bass guitar), Sam Cole (guitars, backing vocals), Adam Reifsnyder (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Ricky Human (drums). During their successful years during the 10s, the lineup was Petricca, Eli Maiman (guitar, backing vocals), Kevin Ray (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Sean Waugaman (drums, backing vocals). All members contributed to songwriting.
- The group formed in 2006 when the four founding members were students at Kenyon College. They chose their name from the song Walking On the Moon by The Police. After developing a local following with their energetic, upbeat concerts, they recorded and self-released an album in 2010 titled I Want! I Want! It included a song titled Anna Sun, the name of one of their professors at Kenyon. The album caught the attention of a music management company, and the band partnered with the company, eventually signing a recording contract in 2011. They began to paint their faces for live performances, and they shared their paint with audience members who wanted to join them. They performed at various music festivals and toured as the opening act for indie bands like Grouplove, Weezer and Panic! At the Disco.
- In 2012, they released their major label debut album, the self-titled Walk the Moon. The band appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman on the day of its release. It included several re-recorded songs from their first album, including Anna Sun, which reached #10 on the Alternative Songs chart. A second single, Tightrope, peaked at #27 on the Alternative Songs chart.
- Their breakthrough was in 2014 with the release of the single Shut Up and Dance. It reached #4 on the Hot 100 and #1 on four other Billboard charts, including the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. It was successful internationally, charting on over 40 global charts, topping charts in Canada, Columbia and Poland, and peaking at #4 in the UK. It was included in their 2014 album Talking Is Hard, which topped the Alternative Albums chart and peaked at #14 on the Billboard 200 album chart, ultimately gaining platinum certification. Another single from the album, Different Colors, peaked at #7 on the Alternative Songs chart.
- Walk the Moon released their What If Nothing album in 2017. The single One Foot peaked at the top of the Alternative Songs chart and it reached #65 on the Hot 100 chart. Another single, Kamikaze, reached #6 on the Alternative Songs chart, their fifth top-ten song on that chart. In 2019 they released several non-album singles, and then began to work on another album. In late 2020, Petricca announced that bassist Kevin Ray was kicked out of the band for acting “out of alignment with our values,” which included a “commitment to create a safe, welcoming environment for our audience.” With Ray’s dismissal, he was removed from recording their next album, although he retained writing credit on several songs. The band proceeded officially as a trio, with Maiman and Petricca assuming bass guitar duties for 2021’s Heights album. The single Can You Handle My Love?? peaked at #6 on the Alternative Airplay chart.
- Walk the Moon makes high voltage, sing-along songs that are full of pop hooks – no surprise that they became so popular. They have this retro 80s feel too, which makes some of us older music lovers take notice also. Watch their video of Shut Up and Dance and you’ll see (and hear) why.