Future Islands

Future Islands is an American synth-pop band that formed in Greenville, North Carolina, in 2006, later relocating to Baltimore, Maryland, in 2008. The band consists of Samuel T. Herring (vocals), Gerrit Welmers (keyboards, programming), William Cashion (bass, guitars) and Michael Lowry (drums).

The band was formed by Herring, Welmers and Cashion—the remaining members of the performance art college band Art Lord & the Self-Portraits—and drummer Erick Murillo. Murillo departed from the band after recording their debut album, Wave Like Home (2008). Continuing as a three-piece, the remaining trio released two further studio albums – In Evening Air (2010) and On the Water (2011) – to a growing cult fanbase and extensive touring.

Future Islands came to prominence in 2014 with their fourth album, Singles, released by 4AD. Its lead single "Seasons (Waiting on You)" was considered the best song of 2014 by Pitchfork and NME and its performance at the Late Show with David Letterman in March 2014 became the most-viewed video on the show's YouTube page and has been described as one of the best live performances of all time.

Ahead of recording their fifth studio album, The Far Field (2017), the band added session drummer Michael Lowry to its line-up. He became a core member of the band for their sixth studio album, As Long as You Are (2020). The band's seventh studio album, People Who Aren't There Anymore (2024), chronicled the dissolution of Herring's long-distance relationship across worldwide COVID-19 lockdowns.