In 2000, singer Nathan Nicholson left his hometown of Maryville, Tennessee after the death of his mother and moved to London.

Nicholson connected with guitarist Todd Howe through an online posting for musicians that resulted in the creation of a firm friendship and the beginnings of a band.

After re-branding as The Boxer Rebellion and with a massive overhaul in their sound they reworked their ensemble and began building a fan-base.

Last minute support slots at the London Astoria for alt-rock super group A Perfect Circle on 2 October 2003 as well as for Lenny Kravitz at Wembley Arena on 7 July 2004 and The Cooper Temple Clause led to more awareness in the UK music press culminating in widespread features in magazines such as Kerrang!, The Fly and TNT.

"Watermelon", seen as the band's signature track, was featured on The Football Factory soundtrack (along with Razorlight, The Libertines, and The Buzzcocks).

Their song "Semi-Automatic", from the album Union, was featured in the CW show One Tree Hill on 21 September 2010 ("I Can't See You, But I Know You're There") as well as an episode of Human Target ("A Problem Like Maria") on Fox, 5 January 2011.

[11] This led to the band becoming the first musical act in history to break into the Billboard Album Chart on a digital only release.

[2] "Evacuate" and "Spitting Fire" were performed from Union, as well as an original song, "If You Run", written specifically for the film's finale.

[14] In 2010, the band performed at South by Southwest, an annual music, film, and interactive conference and festival held in Austin, Texas.

Renowned British comedian Simon Pegg stated in 2010 in Q Magazine that he is a fan of the band, comparing their sound to "grand indie meets Sigur Ros".

[20] The band made their network television debut on 2 February 2011 on CBS's Late Show with David Letterman, where they performed the single "Step Out of the Car" live.

"Both Sides are Even" was also featured on the SyFy series Being Human in Season 3 episode 11: "If I Only Had Raw Brain."

Additionally "Caught By The Light" was used in the serial drama Nikita and NCIS in season 8 episode 24 on one of the characters funeral.

Songs from the album were widely used in TV shows including 'Grey's Anatomy', 'The Originals' and 'The Vampire Diaries', alongside widespread usage in sports coverage such as MLB, Nascar and The NFL.

The album released on 14 May,[23] with a summer tour covering select areas of North America, and a single date in London, UK in October.

[24] In October 2017, the band issued a new single "What the Fuck", to be featured on a sixth studio album called Ghost Alive, to be released on 23 March 2018.

According to Nathan Nicholson the track came to be after facing his own demons in the wake of the loss of his mother and unborn child.

The band's first single "Watermelon" was greeted with great enthusiasm by the British music press with The Fly magazine describing the band as "the current Bright Young Things of Britrock, sounding like a bubbling mixture of The Cooper Temple Clause with the added bonus of Verve-esque melodies and Music-esque madness".

in 2009 recommended the band for fans of Muse and Biffy Clyro,[32] the latter of whom The Boxer Rebellion supported in the UK during 2004.

[34] Todd Howe, the band's former lead guitarist is known to be an avid Frank Zappa fan, owning over 36 of his records.