Hawthorne Heights

Formed in the early 2000s in Dayton, Ohio, Hawthorne Heights is part of the North American emo and post-hardcore wave while incorporating elements of pop punk and alternative rock. The band originally started under the name A Day in the Life before adopting the Hawthorne Heights moniker and coalescing around JT Woodruff, Matt Ridenour, Eron Bucciarelli, Micah Carli and Casey Calvert. The release of The Silence in Black and White in 2004 on Victory Records put Hawthorne Heights on the national stage with a blend of melodic guitars, occasional screams and sung choruses, a sound they expanded on with If Only You Were Lonely in 2006. The death of Casey Calvert in 2007 prompted a reorganization of the project, which nevertheless continued with studio albums Fragile Future (2008) and Skeletons (2010), while remaining active on alternative touring circuits such as the Vans Warped Tour. After shorter EPs in the early 2010s, Hawthorne Heights continued to explore songwriting defined by contrasts between clean vocals and more abrasive passages on Bad Frequencies (2018) and The Rain Just Follows Me (2021), maintaining a steady link to contemporary rock and emo scenes.