The Walters are an American
indie pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...
band formed in 2014, from
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Illinois, composed of lead vocalist Luke Olson, lead guitarist Walter Kosner, bassist Danny Wells, and drummer Charlie Ekhaus.
They have released three EPs, one album, and had their first national tour in 2017.
History
The Walters formed in Chicago, Illinois in 2014 after the band's guitarist and namesake Walter Kosner moved from Connecticut to Chicago to attend DePaul University. After dropping out of the school, Kosner recruited the rest of the band members who eventually would form The Walters.
That same year, the band released their first recorded effort, ''Songs for Dads''. The release saw the band charting on Spotify's ''United States Viral Top 50'' which caught the attention of
Canvasback Records. As part of the label's ongoing monthly singles series, Canvasclub, The Walters released two songs, entitled "Hunk Beach" and "I Want to Be Good".
In 2015, the band also recorded and independently released their second EP, ''Young Men''. This was followed in 2017 by the single "She's Gonna Leave You". In 2017, the band began their first national tour and also performed at the Lollapalooza music festival. On September 23, the band announced via their Facebook page that they "currently had no future plans to release new music as The Walters".
Following the band's breakup, lead vocalist Luke Olson started a solo career under the moniker "L. Martin",
while the remaining members formed a new band called Corduroy.
In an April 2021 interview, Olson stated that "the band broke up with
im and that it was "a pretty tough pill to swallow."
Olson later attributed the breakup to the band being burnt out and overwhelmed by their success at a young age,
while rhythm guitarist MJ Tirabassi attributed the breakup to being unrecognized by the music industry.
In late 2021, their song "
I Love You So" from the EP ''Songs for Dads'' went viral on
TikTok
TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...
, leading to the song earning nearly 4 million on-demand streams in the United States in the first week of November.
On November 3, 2021, the band announced their reunion alongside a three-show tour running through December and subsequently signed with
Warner Records.
In an interview with ''
Variety'', Olson said that the band had been "flirting with the idea of reuniting" and that the success of "I Love You So" led to them officially reuniting.
The sleeper hit went on to chart throughout 2021 and 2022 in 4 countries and other global charts, with the band also performing the song on ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' on January 28, 2022.
On April 14, 2022, the band released a new single, "Million Little Problems", their first original output since 2017. The single was accompanied by the announcement of their upcoming EP, ''Try Again'', which was released May 6.
On June 2, 2023, the band announced a new single titled "Stuck In My Ways", with promotion featuring the band without rhythm guitarist MJ Tirabassi, signaling his departure.
In 2024, the band left Warner Records to go independent, in partnership with distributor and Artist Services company
Amuse.
On January 29, 2025, the band released a new single titled "Life On The Line", from their upcoming album ''Good Company'', followed by Broken Hearts and Memories on February 26th. On March 28, 2025, the full album was released internationally.
Members
Current members
* Luke Olson – lead vocals, guitar
(2014–2017, 2021–present)
* Walter Kosner – lead guitar
(2014–2017, 2021–present)
* Danny Wells – bass
(2014–2017, 2021–present)
* Charlie Ekhaus – drums
(2014–2017, 2021–present)
Former members
* MJ Tirabassi – rhythm guitar, vocals
(2014–2017, 2021–2023)
Touring members
* Luke Otwell – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
(2021–2022)
* Kris Hansen – keyboards, trumpet, backing vocals
(2021–2022)
* Liam Jones – rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
(2023–present)
Discography
Albums
Extended plays
Singles
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I Love You So"
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References
{{reflist
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walters
Musical groups established in 2014
Alternative rock groups from Chicago
2014 establishments in Illinois
Musical groups disestablished in 2017
Musical groups reestablished in 2021