Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend's early blend of indie pop, Afropop and chamber music helped make their 2008 self-titled debut one of the decade's most acclaimed first albums. Formed in New York City in 2006, the band initially consisted of lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chris Tomson and bassist Chris Baio. The record produced the charting singles “A-Punk” and “Oxford Comma,” pairing concise guitar-pop with arrangements and rhythmic ideas that set the group apart from many of their indie-rock peers.

Their second album, Contra, arrived in 2010 and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200. It continued the band's commercial and critical success, with “Holiday” among its well-received singles. Vampire Weekend followed it with Modern Vampires of the City in 2013, another US chart-topper. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in its respective year.

Batmanglij left the group in early 2016, though he has continued to contribute occasionally to later Vampire Weekend albums as a songwriter, producer and musician. Koenig, Tomson and Baio remained the band's core lineup. Their 2019 album Father of the Bride also topped the US charts and won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album. Vampire Weekend released their fifth studio album, Only God Was Above Us, in April 2024; like its predecessors, it received critical acclaim.