Flyleaf formed in Belton, Texas, in 2002, when vocalist Lacey Sturm and drummer James Culpepper, both part of a local band in Temple, Texas, began playing music together. Sturm performed with James Culpepper, and Jared Hartmann and Sameer Bhattacharya were later recruited , with bassist Pat Seals rounding out the lineup soon after. The group initially performed as Passerby, playing extensively in Texas and releasing three EPs while performing over 100 shows , before renaming themselves Flyleaf in June 2004 for legal reasons and releasing their EP with the single "Breathe Today." Early on, the band built its following through relentless regional touring, catching the attention of major labels with a sound that blended aggressive alternative metal riffs with introspective, faith-influenced lyrics.
The band's breakthrough came with its self-titled debut album, released October 4, 2005, produced by Howard Benson. Singles such as "I'm So Sick," "Fully Alive," "All Around Me," and "Sorrow" helped propel the album to platinum status, selling over one million copies. The record's success established Flyleaf as a major force on rock radio, and Sturm's howls, screams, and soaring vocals became a defining feature of the band's identity. The group followed up with its second album, Memento Mori, released in October 2009, which debuted and peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard charts. During this period the classic lineup, Lacey Sturm on vocals, Sameer Bhattacharya and Jared Hartmann on guitars, Pat Seals on bass, and James Culpepper on drums, toured heavily, with Flyleaf's rise coinciding with extensive touring from 2006 to 2008, including major tours like Family Values and Music as a Weapon III. The band's arc took a significant turn in 2012, when, shortly before the release of their third album, New Horizons, lead vocalist Lacey Sturm announced her departure after a decade fronting the group. Sameer, Jared, James, and Pat selected Kristen May, formerly of Vedera, to assume lead vocal duties for future tour dates. May recorded 2014's Between the Stars with the band, an album that saw the group touring in support of the effort, including headlining 2015's Revolver trek , before she announced her own departure in 2016, citing both personal reasons and not fitting in with the band. Her exit effectively put Flyleaf on hiatus for several years, closing out an era defined by two distinct vocalists and two very different chapters of the band's sound.
Flyleaf remained dormant until late 2022, when the band announced a surprising reunion, reuniting with original vocalist Lacey Sturm after a decade apart. The reconstituted lineup debuted at the Sick New World music festival in Las Vegas, and the group has since continued performing at select festivals and shows, including recent appearances such as Aftershock. Across its history, Flyleaf's platinum debut, its Billboard-charting follow-ups, and its emotionally raw, faith-inflected take on alternative metal left a lasting mark on 2000s rock radio, influencing a generation of bands and fans who found resonance in Sturm's intense, vulnerable songwriting.
For this archive, Flyleaf holds a special place. Wayne Dennon photographed the band four times between 2006 and 2009, right in the thick of their commercial peak, capturing shows across three different cities in two states. Those performances live on in 110 photographs preserved here, images that have drawn an astonishing 84,977 views from archive visitors over the years. In a collection built from Wayne's decades behind the lens, these frames stand as a quiet testament to a band that, for a few short years, brought raw intensity and honest emotion to stages across the country, and to the photographer who was there to capture it.
