Tyson Ritter never expected his band to make a comeback. But here we are in 2025 and All American Rejects are enjoying a massive resurgence in popularity, highlighted by the band’s upcoming album – their first in over 13 years.
“Honestly, man, we are the worst,” Ritter admits during a conversation with SNSMix. “We have been the biggest bullies to our band. You have no idea.”
From 2013 to 2022, All American Rejects went on an unofficial hiatus. There was the occasional performance or cover song released, but the group was largely inactive. According to Ritter, it was the 2022 When We Were Young festival that reignited the band.
“We approached When We Were Young as [if] nobody’s, there’s not going to be much of a crowd there,” he explains. “We’re playing against Paramore and Death Cab for Cutie and we’re on the side stage. Who’s going to go see the fucking Rejects? And to our incredibly humbling surprise, we had the crowd and they were singing, man. They were singing songs I’d never heard them sing.”
Even now, the frontman is clearly moved by recounting the experience. Ritter’s eyes begin to well as he explains the deep impact When We Were Young had on his band.
When We Were Young ‘Really Saved’ All American Rejects
“Even just thinking about it, I get kind of emotional because that meant so much to us at that moment,” he confesses. “And it really saved [the band]. It really started the building blocks of this bridge to mend fences internally as a band that led to me being inspired to create for this band and to collaborate with (guitarist) Nick [Wheeler] on this music and to do this again.”
All American Rejects were scheduled to play When We Were Young again in 2024, but pulled out the week of the event due to a “management change” within the festival.
“It’s funny, we got so much shit for not playing last year at When We Were Young,” Ritter notes, “but a lot of people don’t realize like that wasn’t our bad or that wasn’t a decision we had to make, man. They made that for us. But we owe so much to that festival for that first year that they put it on, for letting us take the stage, for allowing us to see that people cared.”
All American Rejects have garnered headlines in recent months by playing pop-up concerts and backyard parties at the homes of their fans. The band – and Ritter in particular – seems to be having fun again, a far cry from where they were several years ago.
“We all have this AAR tattoo on our chest,” Ritter notes, showing some ink on his upper right pec. “Multiple times before this When We Were Young show, I had considered getting it removed. Because that’s where I was at with how I felt like, this band was keeping me, was going to be the only thing that defined me in my life. And now I’ve reconciled that and realized that, man, if this is the only thing that defines me in my life, I am so grateful because I’m so proud of this band. Finally, after 20 some years, I’m actually proud to be in it again.”
