Bradenton, FL · pop-punk

We The Kings

2 upcoming festivals ↓

'Check Yes Juliet' — MySpace-era pop-punk sunshine, Florida warmth that never curdled, and the chorus still checks yes.

We the Kings formed in Bradenton, Florida, among childhood friends who attended Martha B. King Middle School together, a name the band later borrowed for itself after performing under earlier names including Broken Image. The founding lineup was singer-guitarist Travis Clark, guitarist Hunter Thomsen, bassist Drew Thomsen and drummer Danny Duncan.

Their sound sits squarely in the pop-punk of its era: bright guitars, big unison choruses and lyrics about summer, small towns and leaving them.

The band's self-titled debut, produced by Sam Hollander, arrived on S-Curve Records in 2007 and produced the triple-platinum single "Check Yes Juliet" alongside "Skyway Avenue."

Smile Kid followed in 2009 with the singles "Heaven Can Wait" and "We'll Be a Dream," the latter a duet with Demi Lovato. Sunshine State of Mind arrived in 2011, its single "Say You Like Me" winning an MTV Video Music Award, and the band toured internationally alongside Simple Plan.

Later albums Somewhere Somehow, in 2013, and Strange Love, in 2015, kept the band recording and touring well past its MySpace-era beginnings, with Travis Clark also writing and producing for other artists.

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pop-punk