Nick Thompson originally was in a group called The Summer Departure and Nate Van Dame had worked for Hawthorne Heights as a drum tech.

[3] Hit the Lights headlined the Let It Ride Tour in 2007 which featured support from Just Surrender, All Time Low, Valencia, Forgive Durden, The Secret Handshake, and Love Arcade.

They were slated to embark on a headlining tour in the United Kingdom in October 2007, but had to cancel due to not being able to find a permanent lead vocalist after Colin Ross left in June 2007.

At Cincinnati stop of the Warped Tour, former vocalist Colin Ross joined Hit the Lights on stage for the song "Bodybag".

Hit The Lights embarked on a headlining tour in late 2009, called the Manotour, with opening acts There For Tomorrow, Fireworks, Sparks The Rescue, This Time Next Year, Vinnie Caruana, and Oh No Not Stereo.

During this time, Universal Republic experienced significant restructuring and in May 2011 Hit the Lights asked for release from their contract, which was granted.

[8] Guitarist Omar has said that they have collaborated with Ryan Key from Yellowcard, Tim Pagnotta from Sugarcult, and Kenny Vasoli from The Starting Line.

Former singer Colin Ross joined the band in December 2012 for their east coast tour and the Glamour Kills Holiday Festival.

They played Skip School, Start Fights in full with support from Handguns, State Champs, Misser, and Elder Brother.

The band played select dates of Motion City Soundtrack's Commit This to Memory anniversary tour in January 2015.

Hit the Lights co-headlined the Pure Noise Records Tour with Seaway in April and May 2016 with Can't Swim and Casey Bolles as support.