The All-American Rejects are making a comeback in 2026 with their first album since 2012, Sandbox, set to release in May. Band members Tyson Ritter and Nick Wheeler visited the Billboard House @ SXSW on Friday (March 13).

In an interview with Billboard co-chief content officer Jason Lipshutz, the band discussed various topics, including their transition to an independent model after dominating the mainstream, their viral backyard tour, and creating their first album nearly 14 years ago.

Social media was flooded with clips from performances during the backyard tour, evoking nostalgia and strengthening the bond among band members.

Ritter expressed his excitement, stating, “While we were in the belly of that beast, when we were a week in and it was popping off, it felt like we were holding the tail of the dragon, man. Those shows were the greatest things I’ve ever been a part of, let alone been to, let alone performed in.”

The concept for the backyard tour across America originated from their manager, Meghan Kraemer. Ritter noted, “That created something — especially being from Oklahoma — it felt like the shows we were playing when we were kids.”

After achieving success in the 2000s with Interscope Records, the band opted for an independent route for their new music due to necessity.

Ritter revealed, “Nobody wanted to touch us. Nobody wanted to really roll the dice on us as far as new music is concerned, including the management we had at the time… Independence was what we had to do to continue the story of this band.”

With their first album in 13 years, Ritter and Wheeler aimed to allow the band to evolve artistically through new music rather than trying to recreate past successes.

Ritter shared his concerns: “My fear for this band was can we grow together musically? The last thing we wanted to do was reach into some bag and be like, ‘Cool, this looks just like it used to and sounds like it used to, let’s go make a transactional experience for our fans of the lackluster watered-down concentrate of the juice they were drinking 20 years ago.’ I’m happy I believe in what we’re doing.”

Wheeler echoed similar thoughts: “That’s the only reason we’re doing it. We would’ve been happy to ride off into the sunset and play state fairs and casinos. We always said we wouldn’t even attempt this again unless we really wanted to and we were excited about it and wanted to challenge ourselves again.”

Billboard House is hosting daily performances throughout the weekend alongside panel discussions, featuring artists like Dizzy Fae, Alicia Creti, Kairo Keyz, and Babyfxce E on Friday’s day one. DJ Cortez also provided daytime sounds for the venue.

Sandbox is scheduled for release on May 15. Watch the complete interview with The All-American Rejects here.