Linkin Park

After changing their name twice and recruiting several new members, including current vocalist Chester Bennington, the band settled on the name Linkin Park and began recording much of the material for their debut album “Hybrid Theory”, which was released shortly after the band signed with Warner Brothers in 1999.

“Hybrid Theory” was a breakthrough success for Linkin Park and quickly sold almost five million albums in its first year, with single “One Step Closer” demonstrating Chester Bennington’s dynamic vocal range and style. Linkin Park’s ability to bring nu metal to a mainstream, radio-listening audience has meant that the release of its five subsequent studio albums has bought the band ever-increasing success, and has turned Linkin Park into one of the most successful rock bands of the new millennium.

Singles “In the End” and “What I’ve Done” have been hugely successful across the globe and have demonstrated the band’s range and growth over the years. Linkin Park’s influences come from various sources, but Mike Shinoda has noted that Public Enemy has been a huge inspiration to them. The band has attempted to emulate Public Enemy’s three-dimensional sound by experimenting with the interplay between Mike Shinoda’s rap, Chester Bennington’s melodic rock voice and the band’s accompanying hard rock sound.

Linkin Park has collaborated with numerous other artists over the years including Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, and Steve Aoki, among others. The versatility of their music has won them fans all over the world and it is no surprise that Linkin Park was the first rock band to attain over one billion views on YouTube.

In addition to this, the group has won two Grammy Awards and multiple MTV awards for their extensive discography. No strangers to hard work, the band has toured extensively promoting their own albums as part of their own Projekt Revolution – which has featured acts such as Snoop Dogg and Cyrpess Hill – and to raise money for various charitable causes over the past few years. With this level of talent and such a strong work ethic, one thing is for sure: Linkin Park won’t be going away anytime soon.

Before Phantogram was established its two main members, Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter, who had been childhood friends since junior high both had brief artistic stints in New York City before they returned to their hometown of Saratoga Springs. After the two returned home they reunited and began to work on some of Josh Carter’s musical ideas.

The duo began performing their music to live audiences around their hometown under the name Charlie Everywhere, but later changed their name to Phantogram after signing with the record label BBE. After signing with BBE the band was quick to release two EPs labeled “Phantogram” and “Running From the Cops”, both which came out in 2009.

Phantogram’s debut album “Eyelid Moves” was released under the independent record label Barsuk Records in 2010 and received generally positive reviews. The album was full of classic songs like “Mouthful of Diamonds” and “When I’m Small”. The album was loaded with jangly guitar riffs, electronic soundscapes, and ethereal sounding vocals that drew comparisons to artists like the Cocteau Twins, Death Cab For Cutie, and My Bloody Valentine.

Phantogram’s “Voices”, which was the follow up to their debut album was released in 2014 and showed the duo experimenting with more aggressive electronic sounds as well as elements of trip hop. The music magazine, Alternative Press, highly praised the album noting that the electronics and electric guitars were impeccably mixed to create a sound that was both exceptionally complex and catchy.

Phantogram’s infectiously catchy sounds quickly garnered them mainstream attraction and has led to their music being placed in several popular television shows and movies such as Teen Wolf, Catching Fire, and Pitch Perfect. Phantogram have also made appearances on many well-regarded late night television shows like Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Phantogram has already had the privilege of playing the Hollywood Bowl when they opened for M83 and have played many large festivals such as Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, and Coachella. Other musical artists are also highly fond of Phantogram’s music, which has led to artists such as Big Boi and The Flaming Lips asking Phantogram to collaborate with them.