The All-American Rejects: Wet Hot All American Summer Tour

Vocalist/bassist Tyson Ritter and guitarist Nick Wheeler were best friends in high school in Stillwater, Oklahoma, when they founded The All-American Rejects in 1999. And while their emo-pop band has traveled far and wide and sold millions of albums in the years since, their music retains an irrepressible energy and infectious scrappiness, two qualities that seem quintessentially teenaged in the best sense. They’ve also always understood the lasting value of big sticky melodies, a lesson they absorbed from a wide range of early influences that included Bon Jovi and Def Leppard, as well as emo forebears such as Weezer and Jimmy Eat World.

Already fully realized on their 2002 indie hit “Swing, Swing,” The All-American Rejects’ catchy mix of arena rock, power pop, and emo soon landed them a deal with DreamWorks. Later hits like 2005’s “Dirty Little Secret” and 2008’s “Gives You Hell”—which hit No. 1 on the iTunes chart—confirmed the wide appeal of Ritter and Wheeler’s sometimes snarky and always punchy songwriting.