Walk the Moon Announces Hiatus in Emotional Video, Plus New Music: We’ll ‘Hopefully Come Back One Day Stronger Than Before’

variety.com:

Ethan Shanfeld Walk the Moon, the Ohio-based band behind pop rock hits “Shut Up and Dance” and “Anna Sun,” announced an indefinite hiatus. “The time has come for us to take a good long break from touring and making records together,” frontman Nicholas Petricca said in an emotional video posted to the band’s YouTube page. “When we do reconvene, that will be a glorious day.

And the truth is, we don’t know when that’s gonna be.” Reflecting on the number of shows the band has played together — and miles they’ve traveled — Petricca said Walk the Moon is “filled with love, gratitude, appreciation, and some heartache” as they announce a “hibernation.” “It is an enormous act of love to carefully lift something like this from the center of our lives and place it gently to the side, out of focus, and let it rest for a moment,” Petricca said. “It’s a choice we made powerfully to follow our truth, to make space for new creations, for family, to serve our well-being and, in the long run, even serve the well-being of our community… to hopefully come back one day stronger than before.” It’s not just the end of a chapter, as Petricca announced some new developments as well, including a livestream of the final date of their tour and some new music on the way.

The band currently has three remaining tour dates, the last being a show in Arcadia, Wis., on Aug. 12. Walk the Moon guitarist Eli Maiman also has “a new musical collaboration in the works,” and Petricca is “creating a solo project universe.” Petricca started the band in 2006 as a student at Kenyon College, but the current lineup formed around 2011, with Eli Maiman on lead guitar and Sean Waugaman on the drums. (Longtime bassist Kevin Ray departed Walk the Moon in December 2020