Kings of Leon formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1999, built around three brothers, Caleb, Nathan, and Jared Followill, joined by their cousin Matthew Followill on lead guitar. Raised in a deeply religious family, the Followill brothers spent much of their youth traveling across the American South as their father, a United Pentecostal Church preacher, led tent revivals, before settling near Nashville and pursuing music in earnest. They named the band after their grandfather Leon, who died in January 2014. By 2002, Nathan and Caleb had received interest from a number of music labels and eventually signed with RCA Records. Their early sound, showcased on 2003's debut "Youth & Young Manhood," was a blend of Southern rock and garage rock with blues influences , earning them comparisons to classic American rock acts even as they found their first fans overseas.
The band's international profile grew steadily through "Aha Shake Heartbreak" (2004) and "Because of the Times" (2007), the latter of which debuted at number one in the UK and Ireland . But it was their fourth album, "Only by the Night" (2008), that transformed them into global stars. The quartet's earliest records were steeped in retro sounds, but by the time of 2008's Only by the Night they had left the confines of the garage for an arena-sized stage, resulting in a huge album that spawned the anthemic international hits "Sex on Fire" and "Use Somebody." Only By The Night sold more than eight million copies, a helluva feat for a modern day rock band , and the singles helped the band finally break through in the United States after years of bigger success in Britain. The group won their first career Grammy for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals for "Sex On Fire" at the 51st Grammy Awards , and the following year Kings of Leon took home the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Rock Song for "Use Somebody" at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards .
In the years that followed, the band continued to tour arenas and headline major festivals while releasing a steady string of albums, including "Come Around Sundown" (2010), "Mechanical Bull" (2013), "WALLS" (2016), "When You See Yourself" (2021), and "Can We Please Have Fun" (2024). With the release of WALLS, the band garnered their first-ever simultaneous number one album debut in both the USA and UK. Remarkably, the lineup has remained stable since its formation, with the three Followill brothers and their cousin Matthew still anchoring the band through every release and tour. Along the way they picked up additional Grammy nominations and wins, along with other industry honors, and were inducted onto the Nashville Music City Walk of Fame in 2012. Their live shows became known for filling major venues, including sold-out shows at New York City's Madison Square Garden, and headlining slots at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and Austin City Limits festivals .
Kings of Leon remain active into the mid-2020s, having released their ninth studio album, "Can We Please Have Fun," in 2024 through a new deal with Capitol Records, followed by a substantial world tour and continued festival dates. The band has won four Grammy Awards and sold over 21 million albums worldwide since hitting the music scene in 1999. More than two decades after they started out playing open mic nights around Nashville, the band is still regarded as one of the defining rock acts to emerge from the 2000s, credited with helping keep arena rock alive in the streaming era while continuing to headline festivals and arenas around the world.
It is fitting that a band with such staying power found its way into Wayne Dennon's lens as well. Wayne photographed Kings of Leon at one show in 2010, right in the thick of their post "Only by the Night" ascent, and the resulting images remain part of this archive today. The 24 photographs from that night have since been viewed by archive visitors 19,131 times, a small but lasting testament to both the band's reach and Wayne's eye for capturing rock and roll at its peak.
