Forming as a group of high school friends playing cover songs for school talent shows in the small town of Vermillion, South Dakota, the members of Paradise Fears began by deferring college admission for a year in 2010, instead working full-time jobs to raise money to record their debut album, Yours Truly, with Zack Odom, Kenneth Mount, and Jordan Schmidt.

Upon recording, the band set out following other pop rock tours and selling their CD to fans waiting in line.

[2] In the summer of 2012, Paradise Fears headlined the Sanctuary Mini-Tour, following the re-release of “Sanctuary.” Originally released in 2011, the new version contained a speech made by lead singer Sam Miller halfway through.

In February 2014, they embarked on the "Acoustic & In the Round Tour," where they performed stripped down, intimate versions of the songs on a riser built in the middle of the audience.

[6] In June 2014, drummer Lucas Zimmerman announced he would be leaving the band to return to school to do humanitarian work.

They set out early in the year on the Good Guys & a Girl Tour with Andy Grammer, Alex & Sierra, and Rachel Platten.

This was followed by an announcement of three shows in New York City, Cambridge, and Chicago to happen in January 2017 and the release of a new "more than acoustic" EP, Someone Else's Dream.

[11] At the same time, the band re-released "Color" from their previous album Someone Else's Dream, and "Heaven (The Walkmen Cover)" on an EP.