Anthem Lights

Beginnings

Anthem Lights got its start as a solo effort by Chad Graham in late 2007. Graham and Alan Powell, both living in Los Angeles at the time, were working on music for Graham’s project. When they finished the vocal tracks, they felt the songs worked better for a group. They reached out to contacts at Liberty University to find other singers.

Their contacts suggested Kyle Kupecky and Caleb Grimm. Graham flew from LA to meet them, and both agreed to join. Powell came on board at the last moment. The group first performed under the name Yellow Cavalier.

They put out a self-titled EP on their own on May 26, 2009. Before releasing anything else, they switched to the name Anthem Lights. All four members had studied at Liberty University between 2003 and 2009 but never met there. The group’s first album under the Anthem Lights name came out on May 10, 2011, through Reunion Records. They released five more full-length albums before the label dropped them in 2023.

Name change

The group's name changed to Anthem Lights sometime after their independent release as Yellow Cavalier. Months later, the group signed to Reunion Records. On February 1, 2011, Anthem Lights released the Anthem Lights EP. Although it was the second EP by the group, it was the first on Reunion Records and the first under their current name.

The EP received very positive reviews and chart success as "Can't Shut Up," the first track from the EP, peaked at No. 42 on Billboard's Christian Songs chart and at No. 27 on the CHR radio charts. All of the tracks on the EP were also featured on their debut album, which was also self-titled. The album was released May 10, 2011. On May 7, 2012, the group announced their first lineup change with the news that Kyle Kupecky had left the group, adding later that day that they had already selected someone to replace him.

One week later, on May 14, 2012, they introduced Joseph "Joey" Stamper as the new member during a livestream on Ustream. Anthem Lights performed on the Listen to the Sound Tour. The tour was headlined by Building 429, since the tour carried the same name as their latest album, and it featured Revive. Anthem Lights performed on the 2011 Rock & Worship Roadshow tour along with MercyMe, Jars of Clay, and The Afters.

The album You Have My Heart was released on February 4, 2014. The album Escape was released on October 14, 2014. On February 1, 2016, former singer-guitarist-pianist Alan Powell left the band to pursue a career in acting. On April 7, 2017, they released their fourth album, Hymns.

On October 12, 2017, they released their fifth album, Painted Skies. This is their first album with Spencer Kane, a solo Christian artist formerly of the TV Series iShine Knect of TBN Studios and a 6 time award winner and Billboard charting indie artist. On February 2, 2018, the band released a compilation album called Better Together: The Mixtape, which features an acoustic version of their song Better Together, along with solo music from each of the members. On March 16, 2018, they released their sixth album, Hymns Vol. II.