The band's origins date to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which displaced Lamson and Guarisco from their New Orleans apartment and school, leading them to return to Lafayette with little to do.

Givers was formed in 2008 in Lafayette, Louisiana by Tiffany Lamson, Taylor Guarisco, Kirby Campbell, Josh LeBlanc, William Henderson, and Nick Stephan.

[4] With school on hold and nowhere to live, the duo returned home and began making music together and performing at open mic nights.

"[4] Givers came together in 2008, when Lamson and Guarisco recruited Kirby Campbell, Will Henderson and Josh LeBlanc for a two-hour slot at a Lafayette pub.

[5] Lamson and Guarisco had never sung prior to joining the band, and Josh LeBlanc was a jazz trumpeter before learning the bass.

[4] After the newly christened Givers performed at Baton Rouge's stalwart music hall Spanish Moon, booking agent Aaron Scruggs gave the band what would become one of the "major accidents that became very fruitful occurrences," according to Guarisco.

For their Baton Rouge show, Dirty Projectors had a rare opening slot, and Scruggs gave it to Givers, who had been performing only part-time since their 2008 formation.

[4][5] The band recorded their debut album in January 2010 at the "magical, swampy [and] historical" Dockside Studios in Maurice, Louisiana, which had previously hosted acts such as B.B.

[4] As they were completely separated from city life—"You can't hear cars, there's no light pollution," said Guarisco—they never found themselves distracted, simply waking up to record until "[we] were dead tired" in the late night.

[5] Label founder Daniel Glass had run a mile from his train to the venue to catch the performance, and was "mesmerized," later explaining "It was a visceral moment for me.

[11] Marcy Donelson from AllMusic found the LP "ebullient" and "thoughtful,"[13] while a reviewer for Rolling Stone (Australia) viewed it as "overstuffed", leaving the listener "aurally exhausted.

Movin' On compiles songs the band recorded with producer Dave Cobb—best-known for his work with Sturgill Simpson and Chris Stapleton—at the famed RCA Studio A in Nashville.