TRUEBLOOD

Article by Mel Price

Hosted by: 1824 - UMG’s creative solutions team

Southern California indie-rock outfit TRUEBLOOD is quickly becoming the name on every music lover’s feed. Comprising four brothers - Cameron, Mason, Dylan, and Ethan - the band has racked up over a billion views in under a year, riding a wave of viral momentum that launched in November 2024. Having already opened for The All-American Rejects and wrapped up a series of sold-out shows, including a massive hometown performance at The Observatory, TRUEBLOOD is proving that their rapid online rise is backed by years of deep-rooted live experience.

Their debut EP, First Impressions, captures the band’s high-energy sound and undeniable organic chemistry across five tracks. While millions of fans initially discovered the group through their viral flashlight-lit TikTok covers, First Impressions serves as a deliberate step toward establishing their identity as original songwriters. "A lot of people only know our covers, or they don’t even know we’re brothers or that our last name is Trueblood," the band shared. "We're working on directing fans to our original stuff... It’s a long process, not overnight, but having a physical body of work out there puts you in a completely different headspace."

While signing to Mercury Records has opened doors to world-class studios and producers, TRUEBLOOD’s creative core remains fiercely DIY and deeply family-oriented. Their parents are woven into everyday operations - their mother manages merch and business logistics, while their father serves as cameraman and editor. From filming music videos on their own roof - complete with their dad taping amps and drum kits to the house - to writing songs in their garage, family remains the foundation. "We grew up together, played together for years, and live in the same house. Most importantly, we’re a family first. If all of this went away, we’d still be playing music together in our garage," stated the band.

That tight-knit bond carries into their songwriting process, where genre boundaries take a back seat to raw authenticity. Influenced by classic rock royalty like Led Zeppelin and Guns N' Roses alongside 90s and 2000s icons like Nirvana and Radiohead, the brothers don't restrict themselves to a single style. "If a song is cool and we all like it, we’re happy," they explained. "We don't go in with a set formula. With social media, stuff is out there forever, so we just want to make sure we're putting out music we're genuinely proud of."

From nostalgic openers like ‘Paint a Picture’ to streaming hits like ‘Make It Out,’ the songs on First Impressions are already taking on a life of their own on stage. Having honed their chops at iconic venues like The Troubadour and Ventura Theatre, the band thrives on the energy of their growing community. After dropping a new track the night before a show, they were stunned to hear the entire crowd singing the lyrics back to them the very next day. With two tours already under their belt, a relentless work ethic, and a rapidly evolving sound, TRUEBLOOD is building a legacy that extends far beyond phone screens.