Led by vocalists/guitarists/songwriters Gary Louris and Mark Olson, their country rock sound was influential on many bands who played the Twin Cities circuit during the 1980s and 1990s, such as Uncle Tupelo, the Gear Daddies and the Honeydogs.

Since then, the band has continued to tour and record, releasing the albums Live at The Belly Up in 2015; Paging Mr. Proust, co-produced by Peter Buck and Tucker Martine, in 2016; Back Roads and Abandoned Motels in 2018; and XOXO in 2020.

The Jayhawks was formed in 1984 by Minneapolis musicians Mark Olson (guitar and vocals) and Caleb Palmiter (bass),[1] with the duo adding Tommy Rey (drums) for its first shows.

In 1985 the short-lived trio was relaunched as a four-piece band after Olson recruited Steve Retzler (guitar), Marc Perlman (bass), and Norm Rogers (drums).

Rogers left and was replaced by Thad Spencer, and the band worked for the next years on demo tapes in search of a major label recording contract.

Louris returned, and the collected demos from 1986 to 1989 were brought together to create Blue Earth, released on the Minneapolis label Twin Tone in 1989.

[2] In 1991, Dave Ayers, the head of A&R for Twin Tone, was on a phone call with A&R representative George Drakoulias of Def American while Blue Earth played in the background.

[2] By the end of 1995, Olson unexpectedly left the band to spend more time with Williams (with whom he would later form the Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers).

The result mixed straight rock (the ironic "Big Star"), psychedelic, acoustic (the title track) and even some dub elements, taking the band far from its country-influenced origins.

[8] Rainy Day Music (2003), was stripped down, more acoustic, and generally seen as a return to their alt-country roots ("Tailspin," "Stumbling Through the Dark," "You Look So Young").

[11] A follow-up, Live from the Women's Club 2, contains the rest of the concert, including a cover of Tim Hardin's "Reason to Believe" and a rendition of "Jennifer Save Me" from Golden Smog, the alt/country supergroup of which Louris was a founding member (and which Perlman later joined).

[12] Both old and new Jayhawks members progressed to solo efforts and side projects, and the band as a whole was generally considered to be broken up and not expected to produce new material soon.

"[2][13][14] In September 2008, the 1995 lineup of Louris, Olson, O'Reagan, Grotberg and Perlman reunited briefly[15][16] for the Azkena Rock Festival in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.

The band's mid-1990s lineup played two shows that summer, one at Barcelona's Primavera Sound Festival on May 30 and one at Minneapolis's Basilica Block Party on July 10.

"[14] In July 2009, Sony Legacy and American Recordings released Music from the North Country, The Jayhawks Anthology, a project supervised by Louris.

[20] In January 2011, Legacy Recordings reissued collector's editions of both Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow the Green Grass, each featuring outtakes and B-sides.

The reissues, on American Recordings/UME, feature bonus tracks, new liner notes and fresh remastering from original analog sources by Vic Anesini.

The band has been honored with a star on the outside mural of the Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue,[34] recognizing performers that have played sold-out shows or have otherwise demonstrated a major contribution to the culture at the iconic venue.

[36] In 2020, the core lineup of Louris, Perlman, O'Reagan, and Grotberg released the new album, XOXO, that featured songwriting and lead vocals from each member of the band.