The Hold Steady

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Brooklyn NY, United States (2004 – present)

The Hold Steady is a Brooklyn-based band formed by vocalist/guitarist Craig Finn (ex-Lifter Puller) in 2004. Wanting to capture the sound of bands such as The Replacements and The Grifters, he recruited guitarist Tad Kubler (also ex-Lifter Puller), drummer Judd Counsell, and bassist Galen Polivka. In 2005 the band grew to include Franz Nicolay (of The World/Inferno Friendship Society) on keyboards and Bobby Drake took over on drums following Counsell’s departure.

Recording mostly live, the band released its debut, Almost Killed Me, on French Kiss Records in March 2004 and Separation Sunday a year later. In April 2006 the band signed to Vagrant Records and entered the studio on the 1st of May to begin work on their third record, Boys And Girls In America. Released in October, it was one of the most critically acclaimed records of 2006 and reached a much larger audience than its predecessors.

The band released their fourth album, Stay Positive, recorded again with Boys And Girls In America producer John Agnello. Nicolay left the group and on May 4, 2010 the band released their fifth studio album, Heaven Is Whenever, recorded with producer Dean Baltulonis.


On July 15, 2008, Stay Positive was released. It debuted at #30 on the Billboard 200. It debuted on the UK Album Chart at #15 on July 20, the third-highest new entry. It ranked #1 on the UK Indie Chart. The album was named the best of 2008 by Entertainment Weekly. The song “Constructive Summer” was number 56 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008.
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Top Albums

  • Boys And Girls In America
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  • Stay Positive
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  • Heaven Is Whenever
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  • Separation Sunday
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Top Tracks

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370
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366
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348
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325
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311
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  • badname1986

    They're still on point. Some of the songs are different (piano interlude in Stuck Between Stations, for example) but they're still holding it down. They toured with a keyboardist called Dan for awhile but they've been going sans-keyboard for probably close to a year at this point.

    5 hours ago

  • synulia

    How's the band live without Franz? I haven't seen much footage.

    yesterday evening

  • supressinginfo

    if you're a hold steady fan and havent checked out lifter puller then idk what to say to you

    last week

  • Mattio

    I wish Nicolay was still in the band, got to see them twice with him playing but they lost the originality of their sound without him, hopefully they can find a way to replicate what he did

    15 days ago

  • emmalikesthings

    Yeah I have the same opinion, Seperation Sunday will always be my favorite record. In my opinion it goes Seperation Sunday > Almost Killed Me > Boys and Girls > Stay Positive = Heaven Is Whenever. But I love all those records, I actually don't want to listen to anything else a lot of the time.

    29 days ago

  • supressinginfo

    babies

    last month

  • narakaloka

    Yeah, I actually like Heaven Is Whenever more than a lot of people did, apparently. I just agree with Forlong that it's a step back, but I think Separation Sunday is the band's best and their defining statement. I love Boys and Girls equally much, but to me Separation Sunday IS the Hold Steady and everything they're about so it's kinda galling to see it put on the same level as HIW.

    last month

  • emmalikesthings

    Also fell in love with my guy the night I last saw them, I feel very privileged to have seen them with Franz twice.

    last month
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XPoNential Fest Round 2

4 May 2012 | from theholdsteady.net

      Back in 2009, a storm interrupted the Rockin and Rollin on stage and our set was cut short, but we’ll be back with a vengeance on Friday, July 20 for round 2! Click the …

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