Tonight Alive are an Australian rock band from
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
. For the majority of the band's career, the line-up consisted of lead vocalist Jenna McDougall, guitarists Jake Hardy and Whakaio Taahi, bassist Cameron Adler, and drummer Matty Best. Formed in 2008 by Hardy, Adler and Taahi, soon joined by McDougall and Best, Tonight Alive recorded and self-released the EPs ''All Shapes & Disguises'' and ''
Consider This''. In 2010, Tonight Alive signed to both
Fearless Records
Fearless Records is an American independent record label that was founded in 1994. Fearless is based in Culver City, California, and is best known for its early pop punk moments captured in the ''Fearless Flush Sampler'' and ''Punk Bites'' releas ...
and
Sony Music Entertainment Australia and released their 2011 debut album ''
What Are You So Scared Of?''.
The record was officially released in the UK and US in October 2012, a year after its initial release in Australia.
Their second studio album, ''
The Other Side'', was recorded in Australia and released 6 September 2013, featuring the singles ''Lonely Girl'' and ''Come Home''. It debuted on the
ARIA Albums Chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
at No. 5. The band contributed the song "
The Edge
David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is a British-Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist o ...
" to ''
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Soundtrack''. The band released "Human Interaction" on 30 October 2015, followed by their third album, ''
Limitless'', which debuted to mixed response on 4 March 2016. Lead guitarist and songwriter Whakaio Taahi departed the group in late 2017, shortly after the band finished recording their fourth album, ''Underworld'', which was released on 12 January 2018. Tonight Alive have been listed as one of the top 10 Australian bands in 2010 on American rock radio station
KROQ
KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock").
The sta ...
.
History
2008: Formation
Guitarist Jake Hardy and bassist Cameron Adler already had an existing rock project covering other bands' material. Later, they met Whakaio Taahi through mutual friends, and asked him to join in on keyboard and lead guitar.
Jenna McDougall was writing her own acoustic music at the time, and had Adler helping her record and produce a demo. After the demo was finished, Adler gave McDougall a song the band had written and asked her to record her vocals over it. On 31 May 2008, the day before her sixteenth birthday, McDougall joined as lead vocalist, forming the first lineup of the band.
With shows booked and no band name, the band got together and cut out words they thought described livelihood and the band, coming up with the name Tonight Alive.
In 2009, Tonight Alive's original drummer Mitchell Stanger departed the group. Matty Best, a high school friend of Taahi, joined on after learning from Taahi's mother that they needed a drummer. Best, who comes from
Ulladulla
Ulladulla () is a coastal town in New South Wales, Australia in the City of Shoalhaven local government area. It is on the Princes Highway about south of Sydney, halfway between Batemans Bay to the south and Nowra to the north. Ulladulla has cl ...
, travelled three to four hours to band practice.
The band started to make a name for themselves opening for metal bands, playing small festival type shows like
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour is a Concert tour, touring Rock music, rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music ...
, and spent plenty of time playing local shows at youth centres around the Sydney area.
2009–2010: ''All Shapes and Disguises'' and ''Consider This'' EP
In 2009, the band entered the studio to record their debut self-funded EP ''All Shapes & Disguises'' with producer Greg Stace and producer Dave Petrovic, which was released in June 2010, with their music video and debut single "Wasting Away" being released that same month. McDougall was still in school at the time. She took time off school to record, and her parents covered her share of the cost to rent studio space.
The track "Closer" was featured on season six of the US reality TV show ''
The Hills''.
In November 2010, the band released a three-track EP ''
Consider This'', before heading on a national tour with Australian band Sienna Skies.
2011–2012: ''What Are You So Scared Of?''
After being noticed by some large record labels, Tonight Alive was invited to play a showcase. Despite both guitarists, Taahi and Hardy, snapping a string each on the first song, the band was signed anyway.
In late 2010, a demo of Tonight Alive's new material landed on producer
Mark Trombino
Mark Trombino (born May 23, 1966) is an American multi-platinum record producer, musician, and audio engineer. He has produced, engineered, and mixed tracks for many artists including Jimmy Eat World, Blink-182, The Starting Line, Finch, Motion ...
's desk. He then contacted the band, wanting to take part in producing their debut full-length record.
Speaking on behalf of the band, Jenna reflected, "For him to contact us, and say he was interested, was a big deal. We couldn't believe he'd put himself out like that. He's amazing. Mark created the albums we all grew up listening to – the albums that launched the careers of all these great bands."
In the early months of 2011, Tonight Alive flew to Los Angeles and recorded their debut full-length at NRG Studios over two months.
The track "To Die For", originally from the band's first EP ''All Shapes & Disguises'' and "Thank You and Goodnight", originally from the band's second EP ''Consider This'', was re-recorded on this record. "Thank You & Goodnight" features guest vocals from
Blink-182
Blink-182 is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California, in 1992. Its current and best-known line-up consists of bassist and vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though its so ...
's
Mark Hoppus
Mark Allan Hoppus (born March 15, 1972) is an American musician and record producer. He is the co-lead vocalist, co-founder, and bassist for the rock band Blink-182 and the only member to appear on every album.
Hoppus became interested in ska ...
.
The first single, "Starlight", was released 1 July, and a music video was released three days later. The second single, "Let It Land" was released along with a music video for the track on 19 September.
Tonight Alive toured the US and took part on the annual
Bamboozle festival, playing the 1 May date on the Zumiez stage alongside
New Found Glory,
Valencia
Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
,
Thrice,
The Downtown Fiction
The Downtown Fiction was an American rock music, rock band from Fairfax, Virginia, Fairfax, Virginia. The Musical ensemble, band consisted of guitarist and lead vocalist Cameron Leahy, bassist and backing vocalist David Pavluk, guitarist and bac ...
and more.
The band is featured on the ''
Punk Goes Pop 4'' compilation CD, covering "
Little Lion Man" by British
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
band,
Mumford & Sons
Mumford & Sons are a British folk rock band formed in London in 2007. The band consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums), Ted Dwane (vocals, double bass, bass guitar), and Ben Lovett (British musician), B ...
, which was released on 21 November.
McDougall was part of
Good Charlotte
Good Charlotte is an American rock band formed in Waldorf, Maryland, in 1995. Since 2005, the band's lineup has consisted of Joel Madden (lead vocals), Benji Madden (guitar, vocals), Paul Thomas (bass), Billy Martin (guitar, keyboards), and ...
's song "
Like It's Her Birthday" and was also featured on
Simple Plan
Simple Plan is a Canadian rock band formed in Montreal, Quebec, in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of Pierre Bouvier (lead vocals, studio bass guitar), Chuck Comeau (drums), Jeff Stinco (lead guitar), and Sébastien Lefebvre (rhyt ...
's song "
Jet Lag
Jet lag is a temporary physiological condition that occurs when a person's circadian rhythm is out of sync with the time zone they are in, and is a typical result from travelling rapidly across multiple time zones (east–west or west–east). ...
" during the Australian leg of Simple Plan's most recent tour. She was also featured on the Divided by Friday song "Face to Face".
''
What Are You So Scared Of?'' was released under
Sony Records Australia on 14 October 2011, however in November 2011 Tonight Alive signed to
Fearless Records
Fearless Records is an American independent record label that was founded in 1994. Fearless is based in Culver City, California, and is best known for its early pop punk moments captured in the ''Fearless Flush Sampler'' and ''Punk Bites'' releas ...
,
and re-released the ''Consider This'' EP on 8 November and their debut record ''What Are You So Scared Of?'' 4 months later in the US.
The band released their ''Consider This'' EP in the UK through Banquet Records on 2 April 2012.
Tonight Alive appeared on the 2011 Fearless Friends Tour alongside
blessthefall
Blessthefall (stylized as blessthefall or BLESSTHEFALL prior to 2013) is an American metalcore band from Phoenix, Arizona, signed to Rise Records.
The band was founded in 2004 by guitarist Mike Frisby, drummer Matt Traynor, and bassist and vo ...
,
The Word Alive,
Motionless in White, and
Chunk! No, Captain Chunk.
The band was set to play on the Lucky Street Tour with
Go Radio and
This Providence
This Providence was a four-piece alternative rock band from Seattle, Washington (U.S. state), Washington, United States. The band consisted of Dan Young (lead vocals/guitar), David Blaise (bass), Gavin Phillips (lead guitar), and Andy Horst ( ...
and SXSW until they had to pull out due to medical issues, writing on their Facebook page: "We're very sorry to announce that we are having to cancel our upcoming tour with Go Radio and SXSW appearances due to serious medical issues." This was later revealed to be due to Mcdougall suffering from severe eczema, making it hard for her to move. They later headed to Japan for the shows with
Young Guns and also they had a first headline show at
Shibuya-AX
Shibuya-AX (stylized as SHIBUYA- AX) was a concert hall in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, near the Yoyogi National Gymnasium.
Layout
Shibuya-AX was the only purpose-built concert hall or "live house" in the Tokyo metropolitan area that could accommod ...
. Tonight Alive played the entire
Warped Tour 2012.
During their time on The Vans Warped Tour 2012, the band began video production of "Listening", their third single release from ''
What Are You So Scared Of?'' Despite the fact that "Breaking and Entering" had previously been released as a digital download and music video, according to McDougall, "Listening" served as the third official single from ''WAYSSO?''. The music video for "Listening", released on YouTube on 12 October 2012, was used to document the band's final few days on the summer-long tour in a montage music video.
2013–2014: ''The Other Side''

Tonight Alive released a stand-alone single called "Breakdown" on 12 March 2013 which featured
Good Charlotte
Good Charlotte is an American rock band formed in Waldorf, Maryland, in 1995. Since 2005, the band's lineup has consisted of Joel Madden (lead vocals), Benji Madden (guitar, vocals), Paul Thomas (bass), Billy Martin (guitar, keyboards), and ...
's
Benji Madden
Benjamin Levi Madden (né Combs; born March 11, 1979) is an American musician. He is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the rock band Good Charlottefor which he has received various awardsas well as pop rock collaboration the Madden Br ...
. The band recorded their next album, ''
The Other Side'', in
Coffs Harbour
Coffs Harbour, locally nicknamed Coffs, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 a ...
, Australia, which was released on 6 September 2013 through
Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
and
Fearless Records
Fearless Records is an American independent record label that was founded in 1994. Fearless is based in Culver City, California, and is best known for its early pop punk moments captured in the ''Fearless Flush Sampler'' and ''Punk Bites'' releas ...
. The first single is "The Ocean", which premiered on Radio 1 in the UK on 11 July to coincide with the announcement of the album. "The Ocean" was later released to iTunes on 22 July. A teaser for the band's next single, "Lonely Girl" was released 24 July. The single was fully released later that night. An accompanying music video was premiered on 15 August. The track "Come Home" was released as a single in late September, along with the music video on the band's Vevo channel.
Tonight Alive toured the US as part of the
2013 Vans Warped Tour. They played a few dates in Australia before touring again in support of the new album, along with two ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' Live Lodge acoustic shows. They were also part of Warped Tour Australia lineup in November 2013.
They then went on ''The Other Side'' tour to promote their new album in Australia and later the U.S., playing with
The Downtown Fiction
The Downtown Fiction was an American rock music, rock band from Fairfax, Virginia, Fairfax, Virginia. The Musical ensemble, band consisted of guitarist and lead vocalist Cameron Leahy, bassist and backing vocalist David Pavluk, guitarist and bac ...
, For the Foxes, and
Echosmith. The tour ended on 23 November.
The band announced in mid-December that they would be supporting
All Time Low
All Time Low is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Towson, Maryland, in 2003. Consisting of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Alex Gaskarth, lead guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist/backing vocalist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson ...
on their ''A Love like War: UK Tour''. It was announced in late January 2014 that the band would be supporting
Taking Back Sunday
Taking Back Sunday is an American rock band from Amityville, New York, formed by guitarist Eddie Reyes and bassist Jesse Lacey in late 1999. The band's current members are Adam Lazzara (lead vocals), John Nolan (lead guitar, keyboards, voc ...
and
The Used
The Used is an American rock band from Orem, Utah, formed in 2000. The group consists of vocalist Bert McCracken, bassist Jeph Howard, drummer Dan Whitesides, and guitarist Joey Bradford. Former members include Quinn Allman, Branden Steinec ...
on their co-headlining North American tour. The tour began in March 2014.
Tonight Alive contributed their original song "
The Edge
David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is a British-Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist o ...
" for Sony and Marvel's film ''
The Amazing Spider-Man 2'' and it was featured on the
deluxe edition of the soundtrack in Australia, New Zealand, UK and Ireland.
They toured with
Mayday Parade
Mayday Parade is an American rock band formed in Tallahassee, Florida, in 2005, as the result of a merger between two local Tallahassee bands, Kid Named Chicago and Defining Moment. Their debut EP '' Tales Told by Dead Friends'' was released i ...
,
PVRIS, and Major League. They also played
The Other Side in its entirety while on tour in the UK.
2015–2016: ''Limitless'' (2015–2016)
In January 2015, it was announced the band would be supporting All Time Low on their upcoming spring tour with
Issues and
State Champs
State Champs is an American pop-punk band from Albany, New York, formed in 2010. They are currently signed to Pure Noise Records and have released three EPs and five full-length albums. Their 2013 debut album ''The Finer Things (State Champs al ...
.
The band began working on their third album in March 2015, with producer
David Bendeth
David Jonathan Bendeth (born 17 June 1954) is an English multi-platinum award-winning record producer. He was also the frontman of The Bendeth Band.
Early life
David Bendeth was born on 17 June 1954 in Stoke Newington, Hackney, London, England ...
They played at Soundwave 2015 in Australia. They released a statement in April cancelling two headlining shows in the US due to the drummer, Best, needing surgery for
tendinosis
Tendinopathy is a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder ( rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow (tenni ...
. Tonight Alive completed work on their third album in July 2015.
On 30 October 2015, the band announced that their third studio album, ''
Limitless'', would be released on 4 March 2016 The announcement coincided with the release of the first single, "Human Interaction". On 21 November, the band released the second single from ''Limitless'', entitled "To Be Free". The band streamed "Drive" on
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...
on 11 December, and made it available with preorders for their album.
The third single, "How Does It Feel?", and its accompanying music video were released on 12 January 2016.
2017–2018: Label change, Taahi's departure, and ''Underworld''
On 3 April 2017, the group announced they had signed to
Hopeless Records
Hopeless Records is an American independent record label in Van Nuys, California.
History
Hopeless Records was founded in 1993 by Louis Posen. The label's artists are generally considered to fall under the genres of punk rock, pop punk, post-ha ...
and
UNFD
UNFD (pronounced as an initialism Help:IPA, /ˈjuːˈenˈefˈdiː/ is an independent record label based in Melbourne, Australia. The label is home to a number of Australian artists including Thornhill (band), Thornhill, Ocean Grove (Austra ...
, and released a standalone single, "World Away". The band recorded material for a new album in Thailand with Dave Petrovic in July 2017. On 16 October they released a single, "Temple" and announced their fourth album, ''Underworld''. The announcement also coincided with the announcement that Taahi had departed the group after the finish of production on ''Underworld'', citing his decision to further his song-writing and producing career. The remaining members embarked on an Australian tour in November 2017 as a
quartet
In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers.
Classical String quartet
In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...
.
On 11 December 2017, the group released "Crack My Heart" as the second single from ''Underworld'', while on 4 January 2018, the third single, "Disappear" featuring
PVRIS'
Lynn Gunn, was released. The album was released on 12 January via UNFD in Australia and Hopeless Records internationally.
2018–2024: Hiatus, new projects and reunions
In December 2018, after performing at the inaugural
Good Things festival, the band announced they were going on an international touring hiatus and cancelled their upcoming US tour, to "address and prioritise" their "mental and physical health". The announcement came after a 46-year-old security guard died during their performance at Good Things in Sydney. The following year, Best relocated to the US and joined
Sleeping with Sirens
Sleeping with Sirens is an American rock band from Orlando, Florida, currently residing in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The band currently consists of Kellin Quinn (lead vocals, keyboards), Nick Martin (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Justin Hills ...
as their new drummer.
In September 2019, the band were announced on the lineup for the 2020
Unify Gathering
Unify Gathering was an annual Australian music festival held in South Gippsland, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, featuring artists of various genres including Rock Music, rock, Metal (music), metal, and Punk rock, punk. The festival has been di ...
. Due to Best's commitments with Sleeping with Sirens, he was replaced by session drummer Stan Bicknell. They were also joined during the set by Marie DeVita of
Waax, Marcus Bridge of
Northlane, Matt Gravolin of
Deez Nuts and
I Killed the Prom Queen and Dre Faivre of
Hellions. Following their appearance at the festival, the band also played a
bushfire fundraiser at the
Corner Hotel in Melbourne alongside fellow Unify Gathering bands
The Amity Affliction
The Amity Affliction is an Australian post-hardcore band from Gympie, Queensland, formed in 2003. The band's current line-up consists of Joel Birch (lead vocals), Dan Brown (guitar), Jonathan Reeves (bass, vocals) and Joe Longobardi (drums). Th ...
,
Northlane,
Ocean Grove and Windwaker.
On 25 May 2022, McDougall announced a new solo project entitled Hevenshe. The first single under this moniker, "No One Will Ever Love You", was released on 6 June 2022.
Tonight Alive reunited for the third annual
When We Were Young Festival on 19 and 20 October 2024, where they performed songs from ''The Other Side''.
In May 2025, the band announced a one-off Melbourne show for September 2025.
Musical style
Tonight Alive are described as
pop punk
Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...
,
pop rock
Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
,
power pop
Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...
,[ ]alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
[ and ]emo
Emo () is a genre of rock music characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of hardcore punk and from the Washington, D.C., hardcore scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore. The bands ...
by music sources. The band are often compared to fellow alternative rock/pop punk band Paramore
Paramore is an American rock band formed in Franklin, Tennessee, in 2004. Since 2017, the band's lineup includes lead vocalist Hayley Williams, lead guitarist Taylor York, and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of ...
.[ Regarding the comparison, guitarist Whakaio Taahi stated "People are going to compare, it's human nature but we don't really let it affect us. We just do what we love to do and hope people like it."][
]
Band members
Current members
* Jenna McDougall – lead vocals, occasional acoustic guitar and piano (2008–2018, 2020, 2023–2024, 2025)
* Jake Hardy – rhythm guitar (2008–2018, 2020, 2023–2024, 2025); lead guitar (2017–2018, 2020, 2023–2024, 2025)
* Cameron "Cam" Adler – bass, backing vocals (2008–2018, 2020, 2023–2024, 2025)
* Matty Best – drums, percussion (2009–2018, 2023–2024, 2025)
Former members
* Mitchell Stanger – drums, percussion (2008–2009)
* Whakaio "Whak" Taahi – lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (2008–2017)
Former touring musicians
* Stan Bicknell – drums (2020)
Timeline
Discography
;Studio albums
* '' What Are You So Scared Of?'' (2011)
* '' The Other Side'' (2013)
* '' Limitless'' (2016)
* ''Underworld
The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld.
...
'' (2018)
References
External links
*
{{Portal bar, Rock music, Australia, Pop music
Australian alternative rock groups
Australian pop punk groups
Female-fronted musical groups
Fearless Records artists
Musical groups established in 2008
Musical groups from Sydney
Universal Music Group artists
Mixed-gender bands