Origin (2002–2006) About August 2002, the band
Anatomy of a Ghost was formed by John Gourley, Joe Simon, Dewey , Nick Simon, and Zach Carothers. Gourley fronted the band having had no previous singing experience. Anatomy of A Ghost quickly gained popularity, but before long the group broke up. Portugal. The Man was originally started as Gourley's side project and Carothers played bass. Before they had a drummer, they used drum machines and synth-loops as a backing beat. Gourley and Carothers teamed with Wesley Hubbard, Nick Klein (former guitar tech for Anatomy of a Ghost) and Harvey Tumbleson forming the band, Portugal. The Man. They left Wasilla and went to Portland with the intent to record and tour. The band recorded demos in the summer of 2004, and went on a US tour in the fall. In spring 2005, Klein and Tumbleson left and Jason Sechrist joined the band a little later. Portugal. The Man's debut record
Waiter: "You Vultures!" was released by Fearless Records on January 24, 2006. The album was produced by Casey Bates. The band's name is based on an idea of
David Bowie's "larger than life" fame. They wanted the band to have a bigger-than-life feel but did not want to name it after one of their members. "A country is a group of people," guitar player and vocalist John Gourley said. "With
Portugal, it just ended up being the first country that came to mind. The band's name is 'Portugal'. The period is stating that, and 'The Man' states that it's just one person" (any one of the band members). Gourley is saying that the country name they picked represents a person but not a specific member. The name has a more personal meaning as well:
Portugal. The Man refers to the name of a book which Gourley has planned to write about his father and his father's many adventures.
Independent years (2007–2010) , May 2008 On July 24, 2007, they released their second full-length album,
Church Mouth, again produced by Casey Bates, and set out on their own U.S. tour with support from
The Photo Atlas,
Play Radio Play,
Tera Melos and The Only Children among other bands. Then they toured
Europe and had another US tour with opening acts
Rocky Votolato and Great Depression during September and October. After that tour, they joined
Thursday, a
post-hardcore band, on a short east coast tour in November alongside
Circle Takes The Square. In 2008, the band left Fearless Records and added Ryan Neighbors, their touring keyboardist, as an official member and a replacement for Wes Hubbard. On July 30, 2008, it was announced that Portugal. The Man was releasing
Censored Colors under its own independent record label, Approaching AIRballoons, in partnership with
Equal Vision Records. It was released August 1. Zoe Manville, a musician and graphic designer, was involved with the album and has been involved on all albums since 2008 including as a vocalist on many of the tracks on
Woodstock. John Gourley was chosen as the 2008
Alternative Press "Best Vocalist of the Year". In 2009, Portugal. The Man played at
Bonnaroo in
Manchester, Tennessee and at
Lollapalooza in
Chicago. Their fourth album,
The Satanic Satanist, came out on July 21, 2009. Themed around memories and stories from Gourley's youth in Alaska, the album was recorded with the help of record producer
Paul Q. Kolderie. The band's fifth studio album,
American Ghetto, was released on March 2, 2010. Before the album was released the band did not seek reviews, publicity, or airplay before the release date and no one received the album early. Gourley and Carothers grew up listening to
The Beatles' songs
In the Mountain In the Cloud (2010–2012) In April 2010, Portugal. The Man announced their signing to
Atlantic Records. During the summer of 2010, the band recorded an album,
In the Mountain In the Cloud, with producer
John Hill in
El Paso, Texas;
London; and
San Diego.
Andy Wallace mixed the album. in
Vienna, April 2011 Starting in April 2011, Portugal. The Man began releasing one 30-second clip every week from their new album via their
YouTube channel, with a 13-minute short film
"Sleep Forever", directed by Michael Ragen, premiered in June of that year. The full album,
In the Mountain in the Cloud, was released on July 19, 2011. Portugal. The Man made their second appearance at Bonnaroo for the festival's 10th anniversary in June 2011, as well as another Lollapalooza appearance in August. On August 8, 2011, after their Lollapalooza show, the band's van and trailer were stolen. The van was recovered the next day, but the contents of the trailer (the band's instruments and gear) were lost. A list of the missing equipment was released by the band. John Gourley said, "... every bit of money Portugal. The Man has made over the last five years was in that trailer." Four days after the theft, much of the band's gear was recovered from the home of a man who claimed to have purchased it at a
flea market. The band posted a thank you note on its website: "it is more than just a win for PTM, it is also a win for
Twitter, the world of
social media, the Chicago police, and old school journalism." The man was charged with one felony count of theft for buying the stolen equipment. In late 2011, Portugal. The Man went on a US tour and guitarist Noah Gersh joined the band. They went on tour in Europe in January 2012, opening for
The Black Keys before going to
Melbourne, Australia to headline and perform at
St Jerome's Laneway Festival. In the spring of 2012, they headlined the
Norman Music Festival in
Norman, Oklahoma as well as the
Jägermeister Music Tour with an indie band,
The Lonely Forest. Ryan Neighbors left the group in April 2012, to pursue his own music career with his new project Hustle and Drone, and was replaced by Kyle O'Quin on keyboards. Jason Sechrist was replaced by former child actor and drummer Kane Ritchotte from
DEV2.0 shortly after Neighbors' departure.
Evil Friends (2013–2014) The band's seventh album,
Evil Friends, was released on June 4, 2013, preceded by a single of the same name in March 2013. Produced by
Danger Mouse and featuring guest appearances from
Este and Danielle Haim, the album was influenced by
Pink Floyd and specifically by Pink Floyd's album,
The Dark Side of the Moon. A music video of
"Purple Yellow Red and Blue" came out. Later in 2013, singles from
Evil Friends including "Evil Friends" and "Purple, Yellow, Red and Blue", were remixed by artists including Bear Mountain,
Terry Urban and the band
Passion Pit.
Woodstock and "Feel It Still" (2014–2020) In November 2014, Portugal. The Man recorded their eighth album with
Mike D from
The Beastie Boys as their producer. The band posted pictures of the band in the studio with Mike D on their
Instagram as well as small teasers of upcoming songs.
Mac Miller was shown working with the band. During that time, guitarist Eric Howk, formerly from
The Lashes, joined the band. Howk, who grew up with Gourley and Carothers in Wasilla, had been talking with the band about joining them in 2007; however, an accident on May 5, 2007, left him a
paraplegic and he unofficially tabled a decision. The first week of May 2015, the band released teasers on social networks of what seemed to be new music with a
Latin twist with
huapango guitars from Mexico, dream synths, and drums machines. On May 5, Portugal. The Man released a
Spanish version of "Purple Yellow Red and Blue" covered by a Mexican-American band named
The Chamanas on their official
YouTube channel to celebrate
Cinco de Mayo. On December 31, 2015, Portugal. The Man posted to their website that they had completed two records, each with a hashtag #Gloomin + #Doomin, respectively. But on February 3, 2016, the band tweeted that the new record would be called
Gloomin + Doomin. In February 2016, Portugal. The Man were featured on the
Yoko Ono collaboration album ''
Yes, I'm A Witch Too'' performing "Soul Got Out of the Box". On November 30, 2016,
Triple J radio debuted Portugal. The Man's new song "Noise Pollution". It was released as a single, "Noise Pollution [Version A, Vocal Up Mix 1.3]", on December 2, and featured
Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Zoe Manville. On March 3, 2017, the band released a single titled "
Feel It Still" off their eighth studio album,
Woodstock. The release was followed by an accompanying music video three days later. It was revealed that
Gloomin + Doomin was never finished and was thrown away three years later. The album's title was inspired by an original 1969
Woodstock music festival ticket stub owned by Gourley's father. It led Gourley to a realization that almost 50 years later, music has the same mission as then–"to comment on societal and political unease." "We worked with so many rad people on this album, but ended up with just the four of us in a basement at 4 a.m. trying to say something that mattered," said Gourley. "Trying to write music that would help people feel they're not alone, even if they're angry or feeling lost."
Woodstock was released on June 16, 2017. The band caused some controversy during their performance of "Feel It Still" at the
American Music Awards in November 2017 because of their backdrop that read: "No computers up here, just live instruments." Critics felt that the implication was that bands who use backing tracks were less artistically relevant than ones who used only live instruments. "Feel It Still" became the band's biggest hit single to date in the United States, reaching No. 1 on the
Billboard Alternative Songs, Hot 100 Airplay, and Pop Songs charts and becoming a Top 5 hit on the
Billboard Hot 100. On January 28, 2018, "Feel It Still" won
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the
60th Annual Grammy Awards and then won the Alternative Rock Song of the Year at the
2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards in
Inglewood, California. The band also received the ASCAP Vanguard Award at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards in April 2018. "
Live in the Moment" became a number one track on the
Billboard Alternative Songs chart during the week of March 26, 2018. It additionally gained the honor of the track with the most spins (plays) during a week's time, that has ever been recorded on Alternative radio at 3,503. In February 2018, the band embarked on a world tour in support of
Woodstock and went to
North America,
Europe, and
Australia ending in October 2018. Before each show on the tour, the band was introduced with a video featuring the
Mike Judge characters
Beavis and Butt-Head. In support of their album, the band has appeared on numerous television programs. In July and August 2017, they played "Feel It Still" on
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and
Conan, respectively. The latter show featured a four-piece string section. In September 2017, it played "Feel It Still" on
The Ellen DeGeneres Show and returned to that program in March 2018, playing "Live in the Moment" with the
USC marching band. In February 2018, Portugal. The Man appeared on
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert playing "Live In The Moment" with backing from the
PS22 Children's Chorus and the BKSteppers
drumline. In April 2018, the group performed "Feel It Still" and "Live in the Moment" with a string quartet on
Jimmy Kimmel Live!. In May 2018, the band played "Live In The Moment" again, this time on
The Late Late Show with James Corden.
Chris Black Changed My Life and Shish (2021–present) On April 16, 2021, the band released
Oregon City Sessions, a live album recorded in December 2008 in a studio in
Oregon City, Oregon. The band contributed a
Metallica cover, "
Don't Tread on Me" to the charity tribute album
The Metallica Blacklist, released in September 2021. On March 1, 2023, the band released "Dummy", the first single off their upcoming ninth studio album,
Chris Black Changed My Life. Produced by
Jeff Bhasker and dedicated to a late friend of the band, the album was released by Atlantic Records on June 23, 2023. It will be supported by a tour beginning in June 2023 at
Bonnaroo Music Festival. Prior to its release as a single, the song received significant attention after it was featured in a
Taco Bell commercial. In 2023, drummer Jason Sechrist left the band after having rejoined in 2016. In 2024, they were the guest stars from the children's television on
Yo Gabba Gabbaland. They appeared in episode 2
Make and performed
Art Party. From April 12 through 19, 2025, they performed the song "
Rainbow Connection" along with
Paul Williams and
Weird Al Yankovic in Yo Gabba Gabba Coachella. On November 7, 2025, the band released
Shish, their tenth studio album, on
Thirty Tigers. It includes the singles "Denali", "Tanana" and "Mush". The name of the album is in reference to
Shishmaref, Alaska. The cover of the album features a photo taken in Shishmaref in the 1950s or 1960s. During their fall tour supporting the release of the album Shish, the band added several "intimate" venues supplemental to their large venue bookings. Among these were the Troubadour in West Hollywood, which they performed at on November 14, 2025. == Music videos and short films ==