AJR

Multi-instrumentalists and brothers Adam, Jack, and Ryan Met, better known as AJR, first started making music together in 2005 as buskers in New York City, covering other artists’ songs for loose change. How quickly things change. Within a few years, the trio had gone from performing in Central Park to headlining shows around the globe. With their unorthodox amalgamation of disparate musical styles (their breakout single “I’m Ready” featured a vocal sample of SpongeBob SquarePants, for example), AJR have become some of the biggest names in DIY pop music and have scored a string of top hits over the past several years, including “Bang!,” “100 Bad Days,” and “World’s Smallest Violin.” Although they signed with Mercury Records last year, the group’s homespun ethos remains strongly intact.