Roots of Straylight Run

Dear and the Headlights was an American indie rock band from Phoenix, Arizona, formed in 2005. They released two widely known demos, recorded by future bassist Chuckie Duff, before their debut album was released. These demos included five songs re-recorded for the album. The most notable change to the songs upon re-recording was the drop from standard guitar tuning to E-flat standard tuning. Two songs heard on their purevolume.com page, recorded acoustic on a local radio show, also later appeared on Small Steps, Heavy Hooves. Small Steps, Heavy Hooves, the band's debut album, was released on February 6, 2007 on Equal Vision Records.

The Format is an American indie rock band, formed by vocalist Nate Ruess and multi-instrumentalist Sam Means. Their style has been considered a mixture of indie, alternative, punk and folk music, with elements of 1960s and 1970s pop music. The Format chose their name to make fun of the music industry's inclination towards a cookie-cutter "format" for a hit single. Formed in 2002, the band released two studio albums before announcing a hiatus on February 4, 2008. On February 4, 2020, they announced a return from their hiatus for a tour of special shows that were later cancelled due to the pandemic. In 2025, the band reunited for a second time and announced their third studio album, Boycott Heaven, which was released on January 23, 2026.