Indie pop/rock trio half•alive have released their third studio album, Persona, available to stream and purchase here today via Virgin Music Group. The bold, cohesive and compact body of work that touches on love, anger, longing, crisis and estrangement. Throughout 11 tracks, half•alive explore what it means to be human – how do personalities develop and how does the outside world perceive you. At the end of it all, they challenge you to answer the question – are you looking or are you seeing?
The creative lengths of this band know no bounds as they have teamed up with Ray-Ban for the video for new song “All My Love (Imperative)” filmed entirely on the new Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses – watch here “A consistent state of busyness is normal in a city like Los Angeles. We don’t know how to rest. We don’t know how to differentiate what we do from who we are,” shares Josh Taylor. “We are all guilty of responding to the simple ‘how are you?’ with a knee jerk ‘I’m good, I’m really busy’ to try and attach our degree of hustle to our self worth. ‘All My Love’ is poking at the idea that worth is downstream from work.
Fans will get a chance to hear these songs live on their Persona World Tour, produced by Live Nation, kicking off next spring. Full of top-notch production, incredible dance choreography, and unique arrangements of their catalog, half•alive is truly a band that you have to see live.
Tickets will be available starting with an artist presale beginning Tuesday, November 19 at 10am local time. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general on sale beginning Friday, November 22 at 10am local time. For more info and tickets go to www.halfalive.co.
For a band that is known for their dynamic visuals and captivating production, the Long Beach-based trio, made up of multi-instrumentalists Brett Kramer, Josh Taylor and J Tyler Johnson, were inspired to peel back the layers in the studio with producer Tommy King (HAIM, The 1975, Vampire Weekend). Adding in collaborators like Justin Tranter, Skyler Stonestreet, Emma Rosen and Jonah Shy, half•alive created songs that were captivating and shocking while also being focused and intentional, as well as having award-winning choreographers JA Collective (made up of Jordan Johnson and Aidan Carberry) reprise their roles to direct movement across the visuals.
Throughout the music videos for previously released singles including the heart-warming harmonic single “Songs”, indie-pop anthem “Sophie’s House” and the heavy-hitting “Automatic”, fans have been introduced to the mascots of Persona – Sonny and Cher. These two “monster-like” creatures were created when the band stumbled upon a digital artist online. An Instagram account (@blatant.space) full of images of exaggerated monsters and fantastical creatures with both animal and humanoid features left half•alive wondering about the stories behind these characters and what it would mean to bring them to life. With the artists’ blessing, the band fabricated two monster mascots that represent the idea that your persona is a different skin that you wear to protect your true self. Fans can now make their own monster while listening to Persona by visiting https://halfalive.lnk.to/monstermaker.
“Persona has allowed us to lean into big choices while also learning a valuable lesson in editing. Anything that didn’t contribute to telling a story was left on the cutting room floor and we couldn’t be more proud of this album. It is truly the best version of half•alive and we’re so happy these songs are now yours.”
“I get warm, soothing chills down my spine when I’m around people singing in harmony. Whenever it happens I can almost see the voices twisting together, and molding into one beautiful thing lighting up the room. I think that’s why so many people are drawn to concerts. Whether you’re singing along with the band or just listening, there’s a certain magic in the room that gets shared by everyone there, “ shares Josh Taylor, looking ahead to getting back on the road. “We’re looking forward to feeling that at the shows next year. The high intensity, the introspection, the swaying, the absorbing and participating- it’s all creating a harmony.
Kicking off in March of 2025, this tour will travel around North America, stopping at iconic venues like Brooklyn Paramount, Marathon Music Works, South Side Ballroom and Hollywood Palladium with support from The Walters and mehro before heading overseas to a variety of cities throughout Europe and the UK, wrapping up down under in June in Australia. A full list of tour dates and venues can be found below.
The music of half•alive breathes, evolves, grows, and changes alongside the lives of the Long Beach trio—Josh Taylor [vocals], Brett Kramer [drums], and J Tyler Johnson [bass]. half•alive officially came to life on the 2017 3 EP, which sparked a palpable buzz on the strength of “The Fall” and “Aawake At Night”. Over the course of the next year, they crafted what became their massive breakout single “still feel.” which has been RIAA certified Gold, rocketed into the Top 10 at Alt Radio and has over 290 million worldwide streams to date.
Since then, the band has released now three full-length albums, were named YouTube’s Artist on the Rise, have had multiple Top 20 Alt Radio singles, performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, secured a spot in Vevo’s DSCVR class and showcased their incredibly creative artistry at NPR’s Tiny Desk with the outlet calling them “a band with a clear vision and gift for design, not just in the earworms they write, but in their entire presentation.”
With help from incredible collaborators like choreographers and creative partners Jordan Johnson and Aidan Carberry, otherwise known as JA Collective, half•alive have completed three headlining tours across the United States, EU and UK, supported Twenty One Pilots on a massive arena tour and have graced major festival stages like Outside Lands, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits. Celebrated for their cutting-edge choreography and visual presentations both on and off the stage, the band has quickly become the definition of a must-be-seen to be believed act.
half•alive Tour Dates
Fri Mar 28 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues San Diego
Sat Mar 29 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
Mon Mar 31 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at The Moody Theater
Tue Apr 01 – Dallas, TX – South Side Ballroom
Wed Apr 02 – Houston, TX – House of Blues Houston
Fri Apr 04 – Orlando, FL – House of Blues Orlando
Sat Apr 05 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
Sun Apr 06 – Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works
Tue Apr 08 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte
Wed Apr 09 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore Philadelphia
Fri Apr 11 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner
Sat Apr 12 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount
Sun Apr 13 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore Silver Spring
Tue Apr 15 – Detroit, MI – Saint Andrew’s Hall
Wed Apr 16 – Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall
Fri Apr 18 – Columbus, OH – KEMBA Live!
Sat Apr 19 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee
Tue Apr 22 – Minneapolis, MN – The Fillmore Minneapolis presented by Affinity Plus
Wed Apr 23 – Kansas City, MO – The Truman/The Uptown
Fri Apr 25 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
Sat Apr 26 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Union Event Center
Tue Apr 29 – Seattle, WA – ShowBox SoDo
Wed Apr 30 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
Fri May 02 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium
Thur May 15 – Prague, CZ – ROXY
Fri May 16 – Munich, DE – Theaterfabrik
Sun May 18 – Berlin, DE – Metropol
Mon May 19 – Hamburg, DE – Große Freiheit 36
Wed May 21 – Cologne, DE – Live Music Hall
Thur May 22 – Paris, FR – La Cigale
Fri May 23 – Utrecht, NL – TivoliVredenburg – Ronda
Sun May 25 – Birmingham, UK – O2 Institute Birmingham
Mon May 26 – Glasgow, UK – SWG3 Galvanizers
Tue May 27 – Manchester, UK – O2 Ritz Manchester
Thur May 29 – London, UK – Roundhouse
Wed June 18 – Perth, AU – The Rechabite
Fri June 20 – Melbourne, AU – Northcote Theatre
Sat Jun 21 – Sydney, AU – Roundhouse
Sun June 22 – Brisbane, AU – Princess Theatre
