The group consists of John Baldwin Gourley, Zach Carothers, Kyle O'Quin, Eric Howk and Zoe Manville.

Gourley and Carothers teamed with Wesley Hubbard, Nick Klein (former guitar tech for Anatomy of a Ghost) and Harvey Tumbleson forming the band, Portugal.

[11][12] In 2008, the band left Fearless Records and added Ryan Neighbors, their touring keyboardist, as an official member and a replacement for Wes Hubbard.

[19] During the summer of 2010, the band recorded an album, In the Mountain In the Cloud, with producer John Hill in El Paso, Texas; London; and San Diego.

The Man began releasing one 30-second clip every week from their new album via their YouTube channel, with a 13-minute short film "Sleep Forever", directed by Michael Ragen, premiered in June of that year.

[28] They went on tour in Europe in January 2012, opening for The Black Keys[29][30] before going to Melbourne, Australia to headline and perform at St Jerome's Laneway Festival.

[33] Ryan Neighbors left the group in April 2012, to pursue his own music career with his new project Hustle and Drone, and was replaced by Kyle O'Quin on keyboards.

[34] Jason Sechrist was replaced by former child actor and drummer Kane Ritchotte from DEV2.0 shortly after Neighbors' departure.

Howk, who grew up with Gourley and Carothers in Wasilla, had been talking with the band about joining them in 2007, however an accident on May 5, 2007, left him a paraplegic and unofficially tabled a decision.

[45][46] The first week of May 2015, the band released teasers on social networks of what seemed to be new music with a Latin twist with huapango guitars from Mexico, dream synths, and drums machines.

The Man released a Spanish version of "Purple Yellow Red and Blue" covered by a Mexican-American band named The Chamanas on their official YouTube channel to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

[50] It was released as a single, "Noise Pollution [Version A, Vocal Up Mix 1.3]", on December 2, and featured Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Zoe Manville.

The album's title was inspired by an original 1969 Woodstock music festival ticket stub owned by Gourley's father.

[54][55] The band caused some controversy during their performance of "Feel It Still" at the American Music Awards in November 2017 because of their backdrop that read: "No computers up here, just live instruments."

[62] In February 2018, the band embarked on a world tour in support of Woodstock and went to North America, Europe, and Australia ending in October 2018.

The Man appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert playing "Live In The Moment" with backing from the PS22 Children's Chorus and the BKSteppers drumline.

[72] On March 1, 2023, the band released "Dummy", the first single off their upcoming ninth studio album, Chris Black Changed My Life.

Produced by Jeff Bhasker and dedicated to a late friend of the band, the album was released by Atlantic Records on June 23, 2023.

The Man released a short film featuring the songs "Sleep Forever" and "Got It All (This Can't Be Living Now)" from their album, In The Mountain In the Cloud.

[77] The video for "Feel It Still" was released on March 6, 2017 and received attention for its imagery of a burning newspaper titled Info Wars.

Clicking on certain items at specific times in the video provides viewers with links to web pages described as "tools for resistance."

On April 22, 2014, the band announced a partnership with the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, which is part of the Smithsonian, to release a limited-edition run of 400 vinyl records aimed at raising awareness for the critically endangered Sumatran tiger species, of which only 400 remained in the wild at the time.

Individual copies were sent by mail to "400 carefully chosen influencers, among them actors, activists, musicians, conservationists, bloggers, and journalists."

[82] In 2015, the band partnered with StubHub and Dr. Martens to help raise $1 million to put instruments in schools throughout the United States.

[85] In May 2018, the band canceled a planned appearance on the Australian TV program, Sunrise, after racist statements made by guest panelist Prue MacSween caused controversy.

The Man helped raise mental health awareness in partnership with Logan Lynn's public advocacy campaign, Keep Oregon Well.

[88] The band is a partner with the non-profit organization, HeadCount, whose goal is to promote "participation in democracy" often by helping concertgoers register to vote.

[92] In January 2020, it was honored with the Public Sector Leadership Award from the National Congress of American Indians at a banquet in Washington, D.C.

Both awards were given in recognition of the band's activism and advocacy for Indigenous rights, including for the land acknowledgement statements[93] which were made before every show on the group's international tour.

The Man founded the PTM Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization that primarily focuses on funding causes related to Indigenous peoples' communities.