On June 24, 2002, brothers Nick and Jonathan Diener brought their friend Nate Lamberts from
Grand Rapids to
Fenton, Michigan to jam. In the following days, they formed The Swellers and recorded a 3-song demo. After a week, the band booked its first show at the
Flint Local 432 in
Flint, Michigan, opening for the band Divit. After a few years of playing shows across Michigan and the Midwest, Lamberts left to pursue a college education. Garrett Burgett and Lance Nelson, close friends and fellow members of the Flint music scene, joined soon after on bass and guitar. The band recorded their debut EP
Beginning Of The End Again in the spring of 2005 at Sentient Studios in Flint, MI. That summer, the band signed to Search and Rescue Records and played a Midwestern/Canadian leg of the Vans
Warped Tour. In June and July 2006, the band embarked on a tour of the US. Since the summer of 2006, The Swellers has been constantly touring the US. That same year, they signed to the Japanese label Radtone Music and flew out to perform a week of shows. In November and December 2006, The Swellers went to the newly moved Sentient Studio in
Chicago to record their full-length album,
My Everest. The album was released on June 5, 2007, through Search and Rescue Records. From March to May 2008, Lance and Garrett left the group before several large tours. The Swellers enlisted Ryan Collins, the guitarist of the fellow labelmates and now defunct act, Alucard (whose other guitarist, Mike Supina, had recently joined
A Wilhelm Scream). Close friends Brad Linden and Ben Wixson fulfilled bass duties for several months. On August 25, 2008, the band released a 15-track album of "personalized" songs via
PureVolume. Second guitar player Ryan Collins joined the band before the recording of the album
Ups and Downsizing, and soon after, bassist Anto Boros, previously of the Canadian band Sydney, joined The Swellers to round out the new lineup.
Ups and Downsizing, their
Fueled By Ramen debut, was recorded at Drasik Studios in Chicago by Mark Michalik and was released on September 29, 2009. In support of the album, The Swellers toured as an opening act for
Paramore's
Brand New Eyes World Tour, which began on September 29, 2009. The Swellers was an opening act for
Less Than Jake on their Winter United States tour, along with the street punk band
The Casualties. Throughout early 2010, The Swellers went on tour with
Motion City Soundtrack for their
My Dinosaur Life Tour. The Swellers journeyed to Europe for the first time in 2010, playing the
Give It A Name Festival in several countries and
Groezrock in Belgium. They headlined the Give It A Name Introduces Tour in the UK with
Anarbor and
The Dangerous Summer. From June 25 to July 17, 2010, The Swellers played Vans Warped Tour for the second time on the Ernie Ball Stage. In March, the band was named one of Shred News's "Artists to watch in 2010". The band supported
Anti-Flag in October on the Vans Off The Wall Tour in Europe, flew home to play The Fest 9 in
Gainesville, Florida, with
The Suicide Machines,
Strike Anywhere, and A Wilhelm Scream. One month later, the band went back overseas to support
Young Guns. In April 2011, The Swellers supported
The Blackout on their
UK &
Ireland tour for their third studio album
Hope. In that same year, The Swellers joined
Bayside,
Silverstein,
Polar Bear Club and
Texas in July on the
Take Action Tour. It was announced April 22, 2011, through
Alternative Press that their new album, titled
Good For Me, would be released on June 14, where one of the new tracks called "Best I Ever Had" could be streamed. In April 2012, they announced their departure from the Fueled by Ramen label. They released a 7" (Vehicle City Blues) on
Side One Dummy Records. On October 16, The Swellers self-released an EP entitled
Running Out Of Places To Go. It is composed of five songs that the band recorded and produced independently. The Swellers signed to
No Sleep Records in May 2013 and announced in August 2013 that they would be releasing their 4th full-length,
The Light Under Closed Doors, on October 29. On April 15, 2014, The Swellers announced via Facebook their release of "B-sides and Rarities." On June 24, 2014, they announced via Facebook and Twitter that they would be breaking up and booking farewell shows. In February and March 2015, the band performed at
Soundwave. On May 1, 2015, they played their last show at Groezrock. In May 2024, The Swellers released a compilation album on all streaming platforms called B-sides and Rarities. The reimagined compilation album included b-side tracks from Good For Me, Ups and Downsizing, Vehicle City Blues, Running Out Of Places To Go, Montreal Screwjob, and their full acoustic catalog. ==Band members==