Fruit Bats have had a few iterations and one hiatus, but the one thing that's remained constant is their unmistakable indie-folk-rock sound. Originally from Chicago, Fruit Bats' leader and sole original member is Eric D. Johnson.

Fruit Bats released their first album, Echolocation, in 2001. After that, they signed with Sub Pop Records and released four more albums: Mouthfuls (2003), Spelled in Bones (2005), The Ruminant Band (2009), and Tripper (2011), the latter of which landed in the Top 15 of Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart. Fruit Bats announced a hiatus in 2013 while Johnson worked on a solo project, but came back together in 2015 with a new album, Absolute Loser, released in 2016.

One of the band's most notable albums, In Real Life (Live at Spacebomb Studios) (2019), was a collaborative effort with Vetiver lead Andy Cabic. Based on the success of their solo tour collaboration, the album is a six-song joint effort. Later that year, Fruit Bats signed with Merge Records and released Gold Past Life and The Pet Parade (2021). Gold Past Life peaked at No. 13 on the Heatseekers chart.

Fruit Bats released a retrospective in 2022, titled Sometimes a Cloud Is Just a Cloud: Slow Growers, Sleeper Hits and Lost Songs (2001-2021), a collection of fan-favorites, home recordings, demos, and unreleased tracks.

Johnson, also a member of Bonny Light Horseman, has collaborated with Califone, Vetiver and The Shins.

The Fruit Bats' indie-rock craftsmanship, clever lyrics and instrumental prowess are on full display at live shows. Get tickets to see Fruit Bats when they come to a city near you.

Fruit Bats Live in Concert

In an interview with NPR while backstage at Mountage Stage in 2011, Eric D. Johnson described the start of Fruit Bats in 1996 as "an unambitious 4-track project when I was pretty young." He said even the name was "an unambitious joke. I thought it sounded like a fun punk band name." When he started the project, he was teaching guitar and banjo at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music. Friends in Chicago that owned a record label urged Johnson to record an album. He released Echolocation in 2001, and the project continued to grow on its own trajectory.

Johnson lists musical influences as the Birds, Grateful Dead, the Kinks, and Supertramp.