Bleachers

The guitarist/vocalist, from whom we last heard as a member of fun., says he’s “taking a break” from that band by putting out a solo project and world tour under the moniker Bleachers – which has stormed the festival circuit this summer with some select headliners squeezed in between.

Heads were scratched when Firefly festival released its lineup in February, and one band had no media presence, social or otherwise, that anyone could find. Delaware’s News-Journal tried to squeeze information from organizers and got nowhere.

The paper was left to ferret out a likely answer from a May Facebook post on studio Mission Sound’s page that said: “We are really excited to welcome Jack Antonoff (fun.) and his project Bleachers to Mission Sound.”

Antonoff is being a little less secretive now that Bleachers has a full tour and bona fide hit on its hands.

Bleachers is more than just a typical solo side project. Sure, there’s an album, Strange Desire, an ethereal, synthy collection of indie pop tracks that debuted at No. 11 on Nielsen SoundScan’s current albums chart after its July 10 release. And its first single, “I Wanna Get Better,” hovers near the top of the alternative rock charts. The video is directed by Antonoff’s girlfriend, actress Leah Dunham, and no less than Yoko Ono performs on “I’m Ready To Move On/Wild Heart Reprise.”

With the chart success, Antonoff is poised to take his place among the rare artists who top the charts with two very different bands while he ponders what’s next, though in an interview with The Associated Press, he says he “doesn’t know” when or if he’ll return to his old band.   

It may be a while, if ever. With the festival circuit reception and a handful of sold-out headlining shows, Bleachers now has a full run of dates well into November, including at Webster Hall in NYC, 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.; Cannery Ballroom in Nashville; the Wiltern in L.A., and Bluebird Theatre in Denver.