Cage the Elephant is an American rock band formed in 2006 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. They moved to England and settled in London in 2008, shortly before their self-titled first album was released. The band currently consists of Matt Shultz (vocals), his older brother Brad Shultz (rhythm guitar), Nick Bockrath (lead guitar), Matthan Minster (guitar, keyboards), Daniel Tichenor (bass), and Jared Champion (drums).[1] The band's first album was released to much success, spawning several successful radio singles and gaining the band a large following in both the United States and the United Kingdom. It was influenced by classic rock, '90s alternative, blues, punk rock, and funk music. Lincoln Parish served as the band's lead guitarist from their formation in 2006 until 2013, when he left on good terms to pursue a career in producing.
The band's second album, Thank You, Happy Birthday, was released in 2011 and was heavily influenced by punk rock as well as bands such as Pixies and Nirvana. The band's third album, Melophobia, was released in 2013 as the band's concerted effort to find its own distinct musical identity. The band's fourth album, Tell Me I'm Pretty, was produced by Dan Auerbach and released in 2015. The band released a live album, Unpeeled, in 2017. Their fifth studio album, Social Cues, was released in 2019,[2] and their sixth, Neon Pill, was released on May 17, 2024.[3] They won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album twice, in 2017 for Tell Me I'm Pretty and in 2020 for Social Cues.[4]
History
Previous careers
Prior to joining Cage the Elephant, Matt Shultz worked in construction as a plumber. In an interview with the "Rock It Out!" blog for Consequence of Sound, he said he felt like if he did not quit that job, he would be stuck there for the rest of his life. He left to work at a sandwich bar with his brother, Brad Shultz, who had previously worked in telemarketing. Daniel Tichenor held a job at Lowe's and Jared Champion worked in a pet store.
Nick Bockrath is part of the band Nicos Gun and previously played bass with Morning Teleportation. Cage got to know him through their friendship with that band. Matthan Minster formed a band called YOURS in 2010.
Formation and name
Members of Cage the Elephant had previously been involved in the band Perfect Confusion when they were in high school and released a self-titled LP in 2005. Matt Shultz was also in an experimental punk band in middle school called Left Nostril.
The band's name, according to lead singer Matt Shultz, came from an incident in 2006 when a mentally disabled man approached the band after a show. He hugged Shultz and kept repeating the sentence "You have to cage the elephant" over and over again.[5]
Early years and Cage the Elephant (2007–2010)
Matt Shultz performing at the Barfly in London, England in 2008Brad Shultz at the Barfly in 2008
Matt Shultz crowd surfing at Bluesfest in 2011Daniel Tichenor, Lincoln Parish and Matt Shultz in 2010
The band announced their sophomore album in July 2009 when the band had stating that they would release it in early 2010 with the title Computer Says Move. However, after recording over 80 songs, they decided to scrap all of them due to none of them being into any of the ideas.[14] They then took ideas that they had saved for "side projects" and decided to use those songs for the album, and came up with the new title Thank You Happy Birthday.[15] The group was able to work out twelve songs for the album, stating: "We want each of our songs to sound like it's been written by a different band."[16]
Thank You, Happy Birthday, was officially released in January 2011. The album sold 39,000 copies during its first week in the U.S., debuting at Number 2 on the Billboard 200, losing to the band Cake's Showroom of Compassion.[17] The album received positive reception from most critics, with Alternative Press calling it "an alarmingly good album".[18] The song "Shake Me Down" dominated the alternative charts stating at the number one position for 6 weeks while also reaching number 78 on the Billboard hot 100.[8] It was also the band's first song to top the Canada RockBillboard and as of 2025 the band's only song to reach number 1 on the Hot Rock and Alternative songs chart. The album has since been certified gold.
Throughout the year, Cage the Elephant supported the album by playing live. The group landed multiple late night shows, such as the Late Show with David Letterman[19] and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.[20] Cage the Elephant also landed the bill for music festivals such as Coachella and the Glastonbury Festival. On August 6, 2011, Cage the Elephant performed at the Kansas Speedway for the first annual Kanrocksas music festival. In the later half of the year, the band supported the Foo Fighters, who were on tour supporting their new album Wasting Light. In October, drummer Jared Champion's appendix suddenly burst, requiring immediate medical attention. Dave Grohl, the Foo Fighters' frontman and former drummer of Nirvana, temporarily filled in for Champion while he was recuperating.[21]
The group's audience expanded widely throughout 2011. Although they were formed in the 2000s, the band earned the top spot in Rolling Stone's "Reader's Poll: The Best New Artist of 2011". The band Sleeper Agent, another Bowling Green music group and close friends with Cage the Elephant, came in second place. The magazine also named Thank You, Happy Birthday as the 15th best album of the year. That year, Cage the Elephant and Manchester Orchestra embarked on a co-headlining tour with Sleeper Agent as the opening band.
In January 2012, the band released their first live album Live from The Vic in Chicago, recorded during their 2011 tour, and also played at the Big Day Out music festival.[23]
Melophobia (2013–2015)
Former touring musician Kyle Davis in Columbus, Ohio in December 2014
Cage the Elephant regrouped in the studio to record their third album Melophobia (meaning "fear of music").[24][25][26][27] The album's lead single "Come a Little Closer" was teased via their YouTube channel on August 1, 2013, and premiered in full on August 8, 2013. It was released on iTunes for purchase on August 13. In an interview with iHeartRadio during Lollapalooza 2013, Matt Shultz revealed the title of the upcoming album. Melophobia was released on October 8, 2013, The album debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 albums chart on its first week of release to largely positive reviews. Brian Mansfield of USA Today designated it "Album of the Week," summarizing that "Melophobia may mean 'fear of music,' but there's nothing to be afraid of: Its glorious chaos makes for thrilling listening.[28][29] However Shultz mentioned in an interview with Billboard that Melophobia is not a fear of music, rather, "It's a fear of creating music under false pretenses, catering to cool, or writing to project some sort of image that's based upon social standards...[It's] trying to sound artistic, poetic or intellectual, rather than just trying to communicate an honest thought or feeling or story."[30] "Take It or Leave It" and "Cigarette Daydreams" were released on March 24, 2014, and August 26, 2014, respectively. "Come a Little Closer" and "Cigarette Daydreams" both went on to claim the number 1 position on the alternative airplay. The band toured with Muse as an opening act in the fall of 2013. On August 24, 2013, the band performed Melophobia in its entirety live at Soundcheck Nashville in front of an intimate audience of friends and family. The band also performed the songs "Spiderhead" and "Come A Little Closer" live on Los Angeles radio station KROQ.
Lead guitarist Lincoln Parish left the band early in December 2013 to focus on his production company, TalkBoxRodeo.[31] In an interview, Parish said that he "wanted to be a producer before anything else. And then [Cage the Elephant] obviously took off and did more than what any of us could have expected."[32] Guitarist Nick Bockrath filled in as lead guitarist on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on December 9 and, on subsequent shows. The Melophobia tour continued into 2014, including a stop at the Lollapalooza music festival on August 3.[33] The band also toured with The Black Keys on their Turn Blue tour, and then with Foals on their 2014 UK and US tours.[34]
In August 2013, Brad Shultz and his wife Lindsay had a child named Etta Grace, and on November 12, 2014, Jared Champion and his partner Alicia had a child named Rosalyn. Kyle Davis filled in for Champion during the December 2014 tour, while he spent time with his family.
Cage the Elephant released their fourth album, Tell Me I'm Pretty, on December 18, 2015, with Dan Auerbach, a member of The Black Keys, as the producer.[36] The band said they "just wanted to experiment with sounds. While you start experimenting with sound and you get out there a little bit, away from the norm, I think people will see that as psychedelic."[37] This project reached farther than their usual work, with most of the songs off the album featuring a more vintage 1960s sound. The album's first single, "Mess Around", was first performed by the band on October 29, 2015.[38] The band posted on Twitter stating that the song was inspired by the band Outkast and The Black Keys.[38] The band then released their second single from the album, "Trouble".[39] To promote the album, "Too Late To Say Goodbye" was put out to the public before the band released the full album.[40]Trouble and Mess Around would both peak at number 1 position on the alternative airplay charts.[8]
The woman pictured on the cover of the album is model Rachel Sykes.[41] In an interview, lead singer Matt Shultz said "When I looked at her, she was immediately beautiful to the eye but also there was some sense that she'd lived some real life in a way that I could relate to..."[41] He then continued to say that she looked as if she had been "touched" and he was delighted to see how she acted in real life, when she was not being photographed or on camera. The album debuted at number 26 on the Billboard 200 and received positive reception from critics and fans alike. Andrew Harrison writing for Drowned in sound stated "Tell Me I'm Pretty sits very much in the same league as Melophobia – a confident, eclectic rock record with heaps of personality and charm. It smacks of a band who, having finally found their identity, are starting to explore new territory with remarkable confidence."[42]
Tell Me I'm Pretty won Best Rock Album at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards on February 12, 2017, marking the band's first Grammy win.[4] The album has also been certified gold by the RIAA.
On July 28, 2017, the band released a live album titled Unpeeled. It was recorded while band was on tour during their "live and unpeeled" shows in Los Angeles, Washington DC, Nashville and Knoxville. The album included 18 curated songs from past albums and 3 cover songs. The band described the acoustic covers accompanied with a string section as "refreshing" and a "change in pace".[47] It received high reviews from music critics.[48]
Social Cues (2018–2023)
Cage the Elephant performing in 2019
On November 26, 2018, the band announced on Twitter that their new album was "Done. Mixed. Mastered."[49] On January 7, 2019, they released a sample of a song titled "Ready to Let Go" on their Instagram story.[citation needed] On January 31, the band officially released "Ready to Let Go", the first single off their new album. Social Cues was heavily influenced by lead singer Matt Shultz's divorce from his wife, Juliette Buchs, which occurred in the years leading up to the album's 2019 release. Shultz has stated that the difficult divorce, combined with the deaths of friends, resulted in one of the band's darkest and most personal records.[50][51] His brother Brad added "We wanted to explore darker textures and cinematic elements," calling Social Cues "a natural evolution" that still retained the band's core energy."[52] The album debuted at number 21 on the Billboard 200 and charted in the top 100 in 10+ other countries. The album was met with positive reception, David Fricke writing for Rolling Stone stated "One of most promising rock bands, Cage the Elephant's singer Matt Shultz's life fell apart — and they made their best album yet."[53]Skin and Bones, Ready To Let Go and Social Cues would all reach number 1 of the alternative charts.[8]
On February 11, 2019, Cage the Elephant announced a summer 2019 co-headlining tour with Beck, who is featured on the Social Cues track "Night Running."[54] It was also featured in the soundtrack to the PlayStation 4 game MLB The Show 19.[55] The album Social Cues was released on April 19, 2019, via RCA Records.[2] A Matt Shultz directed music video for "Ready to Let Go" was released on January 31 as well.[56] On September 23, Cage the Elephant announced tour dates in early 2020 in the UK and Europe. Supporting acts are Post Animal for the UK leg and SWMRS for the remainder of the European tour. On October 24, Cage the Elephant released a music video for the song "Social Cues" from their album Social Cues. It was shot at Adult Swim's FishCenter Live in Atlanta, Georgia with additional direction from Matt Shultz.[57][58]
For the rest of 2019 they went on their "Night running tour" alongside Beck.[59]
In 2020, Social Cues won the band's second Grammy Award for Best Rock Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.[4] The band contributed a cover of the Metallica song "The Unforgiven" to the charity tribute album The Metallica Blacklist, released in September 2021.[60] they also played a show alongside Metallica and Greta Van Fleet that same year.[61] In December 2021 Cage the Elephant released limited edition T-shirts, with all the proceeds going to support tornado victims and relief in Kentucky.[62]
In 2022 Cage the Elephant hardly toured, this was a result of frontman Matt Shultz experiencing a severe mental health crisis triggered by an adverse reaction to prescribed ADHD medication, which led to paranoiddelusions and a break from reality.[63] This ultimately resulted in an event on January 5, 2023, where Shultz was arrested in New York on charges of felony firearm possession. Shultz was staying at The Bowery Hotel in Manhattan, where a hotel employee reportedly saw him carrying a firearm into the bathroom and called 9-1-1.[64][65][66] In June, he made a plea deal, avoiding jail time, as well as allowing him to wipe the charges from his record should he "stay clean for one year."[67]
Neon Pill (2024–present)
Following Shultz's arrest he was then able to go into recovery after which he reunited with the band and they continued to work on the album that they had started working on years prior.[63] Then following five years without releasing new music, the band released the single "Neon Pill" on January 19, 2024. It was produced with John Hill and recorded at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas[68] and was followed by the single "Good Time" on April 4, 2024. They then debuted the third single "Rainbow" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on May 8.[69] Their sixth studio album of the same name as the former was then released on May 17, 2024.[70] Guitarist Brad Shultz commented on the album stating "Every record has its journey and this was the longest amount of time it took us to make a record, but it was meant to be what it was." He also stated that the recording process "had a lot of starts and stops but when we actually started making the record, it was maybe a month and we were done."[71] The lyrics featured on Neon Pill explore Shultz experience during his psychosis and recovery.[72] The album debuted at number 57 on the Billboard 200 and was met with generally positive reviews, Stephen Thomas from AllMusic gave the album a positive review stating "The album may have been written during a dark night of the soul but it was recorded with precision and concentration ultimately obscuring the pain at the point of the origin."[73] The song Metaverse was featured in the soundtrack of NHL 25.[74]
Once again the band had 3 songs from the album reach number 1 on the alternative airplay charts Neon Pill, Metaverse and Rainbow. Resulting in them tying both Green Day and Linkin Park for second most Alternative airplay number 1s.[75]
The band then went on tour for the first time in nearly 2 years with the "Neon Pill tour" in support of the album alongside Young the Giant and Bakar. They also made an appearance The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon playing their song "Rainbow".[76]
In late 2024 the band's song Cigarette Daydreams became their first song to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify.[77] On October 10, 2024, CBS Mornings aired a segment featuring Matt and Brad where Matt opened up about his psychosis.[77]
From late August to early September 2025 Cage The Elephant opened for all stops of the North American leg of the Oasis Live '25 reunion tour.[78][79] Then the following month they embarked on their own healing tour alongside hey, nothing.[80]
Members
Current members
Matt Shultz – lead vocals (2006–present), rhythm guitar (2015–present)
Lincoln Parish – lead guitar, keyboards (2006–2013)
Timeline
Style and lyrical themes
During their early years the band was influenced by classic rock and folk bands such as The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles. But later on during the band's time in London, their exposure to bands such as Nirvana, Foals and Gang of Four helped shape their early alt rock and punk sound. Lead singer Matt Shultz cites bands such as the Pixies as influential on his vocal style.[81]
Throughout the band's tenure they have been known for their evolving sound and ability to fuse genres together. Starting out with their debut self titled album that had more of a garage rock sound. But with every new album that came out after the band has intentionally taken a different direction in sound and style.[82][83] This was best seen in the band's third studio album Melophobia, in which the band moved beyond their usual garage rock and funky blues rock sound. They incorporated numerous sounds and instruments, which resulted in a more dark and mellow sound along with elements of psychedelic rock while still keeping some of the blues style seen in their first two albums. With a strong vocal performance by Shultz, it all came together to completely reinvent the band's sound.[84][85] On top of this, the band values immediacy where they often forego over polished production resulting in a more emotional impact. This was exemplified in the band's fourth studio album Tell Me I'm Pretty, where they worked alongside Dan Auerbach, who pushed the band to embrace first takes and avoid overthinking.[86]
Some of the themes the band covered in their first two albums had to do with not selling out. The album Thank You, Happy Birthday made this point with tracks like "Sell Yourself" and "Shake Me Down". This attitude largely lent to the songs' poignant sound and connected them with an audience that is more concerned with principle than catchiness.[87] Many of the band's songs especially from their more recent albums are rooted in experiences of the lead singer Matt Shultz.[88] This is most prominently seen in their fifth studio album Social Cues, which was written in the aftermath of his divorce. The album channeled Shultz's grief and emotional fragmentation into lyrics exploring identity, melancholy, isolation and disconnection.[89] The death of close friends and family, including Matt and Brad's cousin and Brad's father-in-law, deeply influenced not only the lyrics but also the instrumentation of the record.[90] Throughout the album they also critique the superficiality and pressures that come with fame, while also showing how it can lead to destructive behavior and distort one's perception of success.[91] The band's most recent album Neon Pill touches upon mental health problems, addiction and resilience, including Shultz's own personal battle of trying to find happiness while struggling with his mental health problems alongside his arrest.[92]
The band is also known to give energetic and entertaining live performances exemplified by frontman Matt Shultz's showmanship, with him dancing around the stage like Mick Jagger and diving into the crowd.[93][94]
↑ Marchese, David (July 6, 2010). "Why They're Called… Cage the Elephant | SPIN". Spin. Retrieved June 12, 2016. The whole time he was saying, 'You have to cage the elephant, you have to cage the elephant.' Afterwards, I was like, 'We gotta name the band that.'
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
