Formation (2010–2011) Schneider began writing music in his hometown of
Okemos, Michigan before studying visual arts at the
University of Michigan and in
France then moving to
New York City where he worked as an artist. The band's name was inspired by
Lake Huron, which Schneider grew up visiting.
Lonesome Dreams (2012–2013) Lord Huron's first full-length album,
Lonesome Dreams, was released on October 9, 2012. It debuted at No. 5 on
Billboards Heatseekers Albums chart. With the release of
Lonesome Dreams, the band released a series of music videos filmed in a western '70s style, which Schneider says was the focal point and narrative for the album. "We had this fun idea that
Lonesome Dreams was kind of this series of old adventure tales." In an interview, Schneider alluded to influence from a specific work, called
The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left-Handed Poems. "It's sort of a collection of pulp fiction and we wanted the videos to kind of reflect that and have that same feel and style", Schneider said during another interview. They also decided to release a theatrical version of the videos.
Strange Trails (2014–2017) The band released their second album,
Strange Trails, on April 6, 2015 in the UK and April 7, 2015 in the US. The album debuted on the
Billboard 200 at No. 23,
Folk Albums at No. 1, and No. 10 on the Top Album Sales chart with 18,000 copies sold. On June 2, 2015, the song "Ends of the Earth" from
Lonesome Dreams was featured in "Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television", the series finale of the
sitcom Community. The song "
The Night We Met" was RIAA certified gold on June 26, 2017 and certified platinum on February 15, 2018. The song was used in the series
13 Reasons Why, in Season 1. It was later remixed in 2018 to feature
Phoebe Bridgers for Season 2.
Vide Noir (2018–2020) In January 2018, several short videos with audio clips on Lord Huron's Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts led to speculation of an album release. The band's third album,
Vide Noir, was announced to be released on April 20, 2018. On January 26, 2018, Lord Huron released their first single from the album, a two-part song called "Ancient Names". On February 16, 2018, the band released the next single, "Wait by the River". On March 7, 2018 they performed the song on
Jimmy Kimmel Live! Lord Huron performed an extended preview of
Vide Noir on March 8, 2018, at Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles. They debuted five songs off the new album: "Ancient Names (Part I)", "Ancient Names (Part II)", "Wait by the River", "Never Ever", and "Vide Noir". On March 27, 2018, they performed another preview set at
Le Poisson Rouge in New York. They played the same five new songs as at Teragram Ballroom plus two more songs from the yet-to-be-released album, "When the Night Is Over" and "Back from the Edge". On the day of the album release, April 20, 2018, Lord Huron played a release show in
Grand Rapids in Schneider's home state of
Michigan. On July 11, 2018, Lord Huron recorded two
Spotify Singles, "When the Night Is Over" and a cover of
Neil Young's "Harvest Moon", at Spotify Studios. On August 11, 2018, the band performed a medley of "Never Ever", "When the Night Is Over", and "Moonbeam" from
Vide Noir on the
CBS This Morning: Saturday Sessions.
Long Lost (2021–2024) In December 2020, the band announced a collection of live-streamed shows entitled
Alive from Whispering Pines. The first episode aired on January 7, 2021, and featured a clip of previously unreleased material. On February 19, 2021, a day after the second episode of
Alive from Whispering Pines, the band released a new single, "Not Dead Yet". On March 18, 2021, the third episode of
Alive from Whispering Pines concluded with the supposed title of their upcoming fourth studio album,
Long Lost, as well as an expected release date of May 21, 2021. This was confirmed when the album became available for pre-order on iTunes, Amazon, and other music vendors. On March 19, 2021, the "Mine Forever" single was released, which had been previewed in the second episode of
Alive from Whispering Pines. On April 30, 2021, another single from
Long Lost was released, "I Lied", featuring American singer-songwriter
August Ponthier. The album was released on the band's Whispering Pines label on May 21, 2021 to "universal acclaim". In 2022, the band toured Canada with
Leith Ross. The band has opened for
Kacey Musgraves on her
Deeper Well World Tour in the US and Canada.
The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 (2025–present) In January 2025, Lord Huron released the single "Who Laughs Last", featuring spoken word verses from actress
Kristen Stewart. This was followed by the release of three more singles: “Nothing I Need” in March, “Looking Back” in May, and “Bag of Bones” in June. This culminated in the release of their fifth album,
The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1, on July 18th, 2025. The band performed "Bag of Bones" on
Jimmy Kimmel Live on November 20, 2025. Schneider said in a 2025 interview with Americana UK that aging was a major inspiration for the album. "I’m getting to that age where I’m starting to think about my life and realising [sic], I don’t have unlimited time [...] as you get older, you just realise that there’s certain doors that close over the course of a life that can never be opened again. And that’s kind of what the record’s about – choosing your path, your fate, and how it’s never quite what you imagined." In the same interview, Schneider said that a Cosmic Selector Vol. 2 is a possibility but not currently in progress. ==Band members==