Formed in 2005 by cousins Landon Milbourn, Tyler Baker, and Brandon Qualkenbush in tribute to Baker's brother who died that year, Goodbye June relocated from their home state to Nashville, Tennessee in 2009 and built a reputation on a roots-oriented hard rock sound drawing from AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, and the Black Keys. Their 2017 label debut Magic Valley on Interscope was followed by Community Inn and See Where the Night Goes, the latter reaching number one on the UK Rock Chart in 2022. The trio have accumulated over 110 million Spotify streams and contributed music to a national Budweiser campaign.

Valient Thorr formed in Greenville, North Carolina around 2000 to 2001, playing a high-energy brand of heavy rock that merged classic hard rock swagger, Southern rock groove, and metal riffing beneath a science fiction mythology built around the urban legend of Valiant Thor, an alleged Venusian visitor. Vocalist Valient Himself commands the band's chaotic live performances, which helped establish them as a fixture on the American touring circuit. The band released six studio albums, including Total Universe Man (2005) and Immortalizer (2008).