Walk the Moon announce indefinite 'hibernation'
Walk the Moon has announced an indefinite hiatus. The self-proclaimed "indie-alt-pop-rock-and-roll band" behind synth-soaked anthems like "Shut Up and Dance" and "Anna Sun" took to social media this morning to announce their "hibernation."
"The time has come for us to take a good, long break from touring and making records together. When we do reconvene, that will be a glorious day. And the truth is, we don't know when that's gonna be," frontman/singer/keyboardist Nicholas Petricca said at the start of an 11-minute farewell video.
Petricca tearfully expressed his gratitude to Walk the Moon's guitarist Eli Maiman and drummer Sean Waugaman, as well as the band's behind-the-scenes collaborators and dedicated fan base.
Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images Walk the Moon
"This summer will mark 18 years since I started the band that would change its name to Walk the Moon — half my life ago," Petricca said. "For half of my life, this band has been the main focus of my creative love and energy.… It is an enormous act of love to carefully lift something like this from the center of our lives and place it gently to the side, out of focus, and let it rest for a moment. It's a choice we make powerfully, to follow our truth, to make space for new creations, for family, to serve our well-being, and in the long run, even serve the well-being of Walk the Moon."
In the video, Petricca also announced that the band's final show will be livestreamed around the world, and that Walk the Moon will be releasing new music in the near future as a parting gift for their fans. He also teased the members' new creative endeavors outside of the band, including his own "solo project universe" and a "new musical collaboration" from Maiman.
Inspired by new wave groups like Talking Heads and Tears for Fears, Petricca started the group at Ohio's Kenyon College in 2006, rotating through a number of lineups before self-releasing Walk the Moon's debut album I Want! I Want! in 2010. After a membership shakeup, Maiman, Waugaman, and bassist Kevin Ray joined the band in 2011, and the quartet signed to RCA Records the same year. The group released its self-titled major-label debut in 2012, mostly consisting of re-recordings of songs from I Want! I Want!, including "Anna Sun," which quickly became a mainstay on alternative radio.
The group's next album Talking Is Hard spawned lead single "Shut Up and Dance," an inescapable pop-rock track that quickly became the band's biggest hit. The song peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is certified Platinum by the RIAA. The band even performed the song at Gillette Stadium with Taylor Swift during her 1989 tour.
Walk the Moon's last album as a quartet, What if Nothing, released in 2017, with lead single "One Foot" topping Billboard's Alternative Songs chart. Petricca announced that Ray would leave Walk the Moon on Instagram in December 2020 after the band "received some firsthand information that leads us to conclude that Kevin Ray has acted out of alignment of our values." The new three-man lineup released the band's latest album Heights in 2021.
"Walk the Moon has been the greatest gift to me," Petricca said in the video. "This vehicle through which my pain and joy and memories and experiences have been transmitted to millions of other human beings in this magical way that gets their bodies, hearts, brains, minds, souls moving. Each of us has poured ourselves into this music and these shows, and the fact that any one of you has gotten something good and nourishing and nutritious out of that — that gives us life."
Watch the full video above.
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