The band was initially a sextet consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Alex Hwang, guitarist and violinist Daniel Chae, violinist Jennifer Rim, keyboardist and vocalist Sally Kang, bassist Joe Chun, and drummer John Chong.

The band performed at venues across Southern California, including Super Concert, the DRIP coffeeshop in Los Angeles' Koreatown, and the Kollaboration 11 competition at the Nokia Theatre on December 5, 2011.

The band was the featured musical guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers on April 26, 2016, performing the song "Run or Hide".

In the Spring of 2019, the three-member band of Run River North performed at three venues for South by Southwest, Austin, Texas.

[17] Following SXSW, Run River North, accompanied by drummer Fer Fuentes, went on a 19-city spring tour to promote the upcoming Monsters Calling Home Volume 1 as well as new music.

[21] In 2020, Run River North, accompanied by drummer Fer Fuentes and guitarist Andie Guerrero, went on a 21-city winter tour called "lonely weather, favorite sweater".

[22] On the end of their tour, Run River North announced that they were released by the Nettwerk Music Group and are an independent band again.

On May 5, 2020, during their weekly IG Live stream, Run River North announced a Patreon page to help support the release of a new album.

[27] With the fan support through Patreon, Run River North worked on a new album with both new music and previously released non-album singles.

[30] In March, the mobile recording studio group, Jam in the Van,[31] released the live recording of Run River North's September 2020 live set for Jam in the Van's Speakeasy Sessions[32] via Spotify[33] On April 14, 2021, the single "Slow and Steady"[34] was released in coordination with the bottled water brand LIFEWTR as part of their Life Unseen campaign.