Casey Wescott

Fleet Foxes
Fleet Foxes performing at the 2009 Coachella Festival.
Background information
Origin	Seattle, Washington, US
Genres	Indie folk Americana baroque pop folk rock
Years active	2006–present (hiatus 2013–2016)
Labels	Sub Pop (US) Bella Union (UK and Europe) Arts & Crafts México Nonesuch Warner Bros.
Associated acts	Animal Collective Pedro the Lion Joanna Newsom Father John Misty The Blood Brothers Past Lives Peter Matthew Bauer Dolour Beach House
Website	fleetfoxes.co
Members	Robin Pecknold Skyler Skjelset Casey Wescott Christian Wargo Morgan Henderson
Past members	Nicholas Peterson Craig Curran Josh Tillman

Fleet Foxes is an American indie folk band formed in Seattle, Washington. Their first two albums were released by the Sub Pop and Bella Union record labels, with their third by Nonesuch and Bella Union. The band came to prominence in 2008 with the release of their second EP, Sun Giant, and their self-titled debut album. Both received much critical praise and reviewers often noted the band's use of refined lyrics and vocal harmonies. Fleet Foxes' second studio album, Helplessness Blues, was released on May 3, 2011, and their third album, Crack-Up, was released on June 16, 2017 on Nonesuch Records.

Robin Pecknold and Skyler Skjelset both attended Lake Washington High School in Kirkland, a suburb of Seattle, and soon became close friends. Pecknold and Skjelset bonded over a mutual appreciation of Bob Dylan and Neil Young and began making music together. Their parents influenced their musical tastes early on—Skjelset's mother Peggi was a keen listener to both Bob Dylan and Hank Williams while Pecknold's father Greg was a member of The Fathoms, a local 1960s soul group. The two shared an interest in the music of Dylan and Brian Wilson. Pecknold played bass for Seattle's Dolour on a US tour in 2005, shortly before forming the first incarnation of Fleet Foxes.

Originally going by the name "The Pineapples", a name clash with another local band prompted a change and Pecknold decided upon "Fleet Foxes", suggesting that it was "evocative of some weird English activity like fox hunting". Pecknold took up the role of principal songwriter, both singing and playing guitar, while Skjelset played lead guitar. Pecknold's late-sixties pop style caught the attention of the Seattle producer Phil Ek and he helped them record their first demo in 2006, the self-released Fleet Foxes EP. Ek was impressed with the band's songwriting, and on hearing Pecknold for the first time, noted, "It was obvious he had talent coming out of his ass." By late 2006 the Seattle press began to take notice of the band; Tom Scanlon of the Seattle Times stated that he was impressed with the band's lyrics and musical maturity.