Released: April 20, 2013

Songwriter: Ben McKee Daniel Platzman Wayne Sermon Dan Reynolds Imagine Dragons

Producer: Imagine Dragons

[Interlude: Dan Reynolds & Speaker]
Hello, everyone
How are you?
*Crowd cheers and claps*
Alright
On be— on behalf of Independent Records, we want to welcome you and thank you for comin' out tonight
We are very excited to be hosting Imagine Dragons
Due to s—
*Crowd cheers and claps*
Wow!
Of course, you all know ’cause you all have your copies of 'Night Visions' in hand
So, uh, let’s hear some music
Please, everybody, welcome Imagine Dragons!
*Crowd cheers and claps*
Well, aren't you guys a wonderf—
Aren't you guys a wonderful, uh, sight for sore eyes
We haven't played in front of people in so long and I don't know what to do
*band tunes instruments*
So, we are, uh…
The four of us make up Imagine Dragons, which, uh, is a band from Las Vegas
*Crowd cheers*
And, uh, I have something I'm going to share with you guys that I wasn't going to say but I thought-
Say it!
Yeah
*Crowd laughs*
There's no secrets here
Um,
So, I u— I underwent, uh, a vocal surgery a month ago, uh, for my vocal chords
Uh, just, it’s been three years of wear and tear
And, uh, but the good news is it went really well
And I’m speaking, which is good
But, uh—
*Crowd cheers*
But, uh, the doctor told me I should not sing for another, uh, week until the tour
But, uh, we had this planned for quite a while and…
So, I don't recommend doing what I’m about to do but…
*Crowd laughs*
I did insist that we came here still and at least played a few songs for you guys
Uh, 'cause I know that many of you planned to come out here for a while
And, uh, it's important to me, ya know, that we keep our promises to you
Uh, 'cause you guys have supported us so much in the years that we’ve been together
And, uh, I wanna tell you that that means a lot to us and this is the least that we could do is come out and play some songs for you, so
Um, we hope that you enjoy it
And, uh, feel free—
*Crowd cheers*
Thank you
Feel free to sing along with us
Don't be shy
And, uh, again, thank you for coming out
And peace and love to all of you
*Crowd cheers and claps*

Imagine Dragons

One of the defining artists of the 2010s and perhaps the biggest band of the decade, Imagine Dragons is an American alt-rock band that originated in Las Vegas and led by Dan Reynolds. While the band began in 2008, the group boasted an entirely different roster than most are familiar. Before releasing their debut album, Night Visions, in 2012, the band released six EPs over four years, constantly shifting their sound and roster from folk to the crowd-shattering anthems they’ve been known for since.

The band’s roster was finalized before Night Visions‘ release with Daniel Platzman on the drums, Wayne Sermon on guitar, and Ben McKee on bass. Their break-out single, “Radioactive” was essential to putting Vegas on the map musically, citing The Killers before them. The song went on to become an international success, obliterating the record for the most weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 at 87 straight weeks.

It wasn’t until 2015 the band released their sophomore album, Smoke + Mirrors. The album was extremely divergent from their freshman album, characterized by an accentuation of their Rock roots and an internal struggle, later described by Reynolds as being his bout with severe depression.