Rookie of the Year is an indie rock/acoustic band from Fayetteville, North Carolina. They are signed to One Eleven Records, though the forthcoming release of their new EP will fulful their contractual obligation to 111 and allow them to sign with a new label. The band is fronted by lead singer/songwriter Ryan Dunson, and also features lead guitarist Mike Kamerman. The band has seen many recent line-up changes, with Dunson and Kamerman being the sole remaining members from the start of 2009.
Biography
The band was formed in 2003 as a solo project of singer Ryan Dunson. Dunson signed with vice verse virtue Records, a Tennessee record label, in late 2002. Soon after, Dunson signed to One Eleven Records, releasing a 1000-copy EP called Late Night Makeout. In 2004 One Eleven Records released the band’s first record, Having to Let Go, as a 13-track LP.
In 2005, OneEleven Records re-released the album as a ten-track LP. After expanding to a five-piece, their second album, The Goodnight Moon, was released in April 2006.[1][2] Following this release, they toured through North America on the Warped Tour,[3] as well as with groups like Relient K, Mae, Secondhand Serenade, PlayRadioPlay, The Graduate, My American Heart, The Rocket Summer, Dave Melillo, Cute Is What We Aim For, Love Me Electric, Blackpool Lights, Four Letter Lie, As Cities Burn, We Are the Fury, Scenes from a Movie, MUTEMATH, Copeland, Mest, Quietdrive, Under the Influence of Giants, Upper Class Trash and label mates The Spill Canvas, This Day & Age, and Rory.
Their last record Sweet Attention was released on August 5, 2008 on One Eleven Records. Over the next 12 months, the band toured non-stop promoting the release, including two headline tours as well as a prominent tour supporting reunited boy-band LFO. Over the course of the tour, 3 of the band members who participated in the recording of Sweet Attention left the band and were replaced with new musicians.
Their latest November 17, 2009 release is a 5 track EP titled Since I Left Your World featuring the single «Slow Down» which was featured on the front page of purevolume.com.
