From humble beginnings to TV-fueled stardom, The Runarounds have spent the last six years carving out their own path and becoming something bigger than they could ever imagine — on and off the big screen.
What started as an audition in 2021 to work with brothers Josh and Jonas Pate — the creators of the hit Netflix series Outer Banks — on an Amazon Prime Video television show aptly titled The Runarounds has since evolved into a full-fledged band.
Consisting of Will Lipton (guitar and vocals), Axel Ellis (guitar and vocals), Jesse Golliher (bass and vocals), Jeremy Yun (lead guitar), and Zende Murdock (drums), the group has gone on to play college campuses, festivals, and venues across the country, including a packed night at the legendary Troubadour in Los Angeles, since the band’s official inception in 2021.
Rumbling of an opportunity first began in 2020, when Lipton and Yun were contacted by casting directors Lisa May and Craig Fincannon to audition for the music-driven television project. Despite Lipton being the only one with prior acting experience — having spent several years acting on the ABC soap opera General Hospital — the band decided to audition.
When Lipton now reflects on the band’s rise, as well as their titular Amazon Prime television show, he’s quick to note that despite the growing notoriety that has unfolded in just a few short months, it is nothing short of a “dream come true.” Still, despite the momentum, Lipton’s real excitement isn’t about growing larger — it’s about hitting the road again with his friends, being able to meet new ones, and soaking in what he calls “a great, great time.”
“So much time elapsed that we became a real band in the process.”
While the band was initially put together through the audition process, after being selected, the group met for their first jam sessions, started writing music together, and developed their sound — all before their show was officially greenlit. “So much time elapsed that we became a real band in the process,” Lipton says. “We wrote our own songs, played gigs all around, and it helped once we got to the show for everything to be as authentic as possible because we already had that pre-existing chemistry with each other…”
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