Guster is an American jangle pop band that is known for its live performances, humor, and cult following formed by Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller, and Brian Rosenworcel in 1991 while attending Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.The band stayed “underground” for their first two full-length albums, Parachute (1994) and Goldfly (1998), but broke into the musical mainstream in 1999 with their third studio album Lost and Gone Forever, with the single song "Fa Fa", which made it onto the Adult Top 40. The band has enjoyed moderate success on the charts with Keep It Together, their fourth album, with two singles in the Adult Top 40 ("Careful" and "Amsterdam"). Joe Pisapia joined the official lineup for "Keep It Together", and the second album following his joining, Ganging Up On The Sun, peaked at 25 on the Billboard 200. The band's music has been featured on many television shows and movies, such as Disturbia, Wedding Crashers, Life as a House, which makes several allusions to the band throughout the film, The OC, and a Guster song became the slogan for The Weather Channel.Guster's tours were originally local, but began to spread as the band gained popularity. In 1999, Guster gave their first performance in Canada, becoming an international act. Guster followed up on their international success with a 2004 tour in England with four shows in London and one in Manchester. Guster maintains a liberal taping policy and has a very dedicated and active taping community. Despite this policy, the band has released several live shows via iTunesGuster is often recognized for their choice of instruments during their earlier years: two members playing acoustic guitars and one member playing drums and various percussion. Brian Rosenworcel, the band's percussionist (affectionately dubbed "The Thundergod" by fans), added to Guster's unique sound with a combination of bongos, cymbals, and other drums, playing live shows using only his bare hands. While Miller played rhythm parts, Gardner would often play a bass line on his guitar. Guster's sound is recognized for their vocal harmonies, with both Miller and Gardner singing lead vocals on different songs; in songs such as "What You Wish For" and "Happier," the two members sing different lyrics simultaneously.

While Guster's studio albums included more instrumental variety (e.g. violin, bass, drum kit), their live shows generally retained the same lineup until tours supporting their album Lost and Gone Forever in which the band diversified by playing different instruments on some songs. At this time, Rosenworcel began introducing a more traditional drum kit into the stage and studio performances in an effort to move away from the bare hand percussion (which can lead to nerve damage). Following the release of Keep It Together, multiinstrumentalist Joe Pisapia, who had been touring with the band, became a full-time member. Guster's live shows have a style unto their own. For encores, the band has sometimes featured drummer Brian Rosenworcel moving to the front mic and singing covers. These have ranged from Temple of the Dog's "Hunger Strike" to 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up?" to the theme song from the TV show "Cheers." Guster has toured with many other artists, such as Ben Folds, Nickel Creek, Ben Kweller, Pete Yorn, John Mayer, and Rogue Wave.On September 27, 2006, Guster won Album of the Year (Major) at the Boston Music Awards.