Sister Hazel formed in
Gainesville, Florida, in 1993 and was named for Sister Hazel Williams, a local
missionary who ran a homeless shelter. The group released its
self-titled debut album in 1994, through its independent
record label Croakin' Poets. Shortly after its release, singer/guitarist Ryan Newell and drummer Mark Trojanowski joined the band. Newell played on the album before officially joining the group. The band's second album
...Somewhere More Familiar was released in 1997 and sold approximately 30,000 copies through its initial pressing, prompting
Universal Records to sign the band. Universal re-released
...Somewhere More Familiar in late 1997. A single from the album
All For You hit No. 11 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and remains the band's most successful single. The band's third album
Fortress was released in 2000 by Universal. The band worked with producers
Mike Clink (
Guns N' Roses,
Mötley Crüe,
Heart), Richie Zito (
Cheap Trick), and Paul Ebersold (
3 Doors Down). The band released their seventh studio album of original songs (tenth album overall) on August 18, 2009. The album, entitled
Release, contains 12 tracks and is on the Rock Ridge Music label. On the day of release,
Release was the number one album on iTunes. Less than six months after releasing
Release, the band returned to the studio to work on their new album,
Heartland Highway, was released on October 12, 2010. Its first radio single was "Stay a While". The band's ninth studio album,
Lighter in the Dark, was announced in the later part of 2015. It is their first country album, and was released on February 19, 2016. The lead single from the album is "We Got It All Tonight". Two songs, "We Got It All Tonight" and "Karaoke Song", which features country artist
Darius Rucker, were made available for instant download for those who pre-ordered the album. The band's namesake Dr. Hazel Kirkland Williams died on July 16, 2016, at age 91 in Gainesville. The band released an EP
Water on February 9, 2018, which featured the lead single "Roll On Bye". Less than a week after the release of
Water, the band announced they had begun recording a follow-up EP in
Nashville,
Tennessee. The EP
Wind was released on September 7, 2018. The next EP in the "Elements" series,
Fire, was released on February 8, 2019. The final installment in the "Elements" series,
Earth, was released on September 6, 2019. Each of the EPs in the series included a portion of a song at the end, intended to be linked together in a future release. On November 26, 2019, all the EPs were combined into a single release,
Elements. The 25-song, double-disc set includes the final "Elements" song pieced together. ==Use in media==