SunflowerVampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend is an American indie rock band known for their complex lyrics and unorthodox production. Consisting of Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio, and Chris Tomson, they have released four Vampire Weekend, Contra, Modern Vampires of the City, and Father of the Bride, which was originally known under the working title Mitsubishi Macchiato. The latter two debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making them the first previously unknown independently signed to do so.

Rostam Batmanglij was a member (mainly working on production and synths throughout his time) until January 2016, when he left to pursue solo projects. However, he contributed to their fourth album, Father of the Bride, which released in the Spring of 2019.

The band got their name the summer before Koenig’s sophmore year of college. He wanted to make an East Coast version of the 80s vampire film The Lost Boys and titled his version Vampire Weekend. They originally considered calling themselves Weekend, but there was another band with that name. It was probably in reference to the Godard film Week-End, which is about dissolute youth revolutionaries in the 1968 tumult in France. They allude to the film both in the “Mansard Roof” and “Oxford Comma” videos.