Rufio was formed when bassist Jon Berry was a freshman in college and the other three members, Scott Sellers, Mike Jimenez, and Clark Domae were in high school.

The band took their name from the character Rufio, leader of the Lost Boys in the absence of Peter Pan in the 1991 film Hook.

The band embarked on a tour that fall, with MxPx and Relient K. In late January 2006, Berry and Jimenez left Rufio, citing creative differences.

On April 5, 2007, the band announced on their MySpace page that they were to play an official farewell show on June 1, 2007, at The Glass House in Pomona, California, followed by a South American tour.

well... it's been a while friends... and we've finally decided that its time to do an official farewell show with all the members of Rufio on June 1.

"However, the band played a few gigs in 2008, and on December 27, 2009, drummer Terry Stirling Jr. announced the release of an EP to be titled The Loneliest.

[11] In a YouTube video released by Stirling Jr. in April 2011, he announced that he had left Rufio to pursue other endeavors.

The band announced that they would be playing a one-off reunion show on June 18, 2015, at the Montebello Amnesia Rockfest.