Do you like the music of Oasis and the Foo Fighters but prefer Christian music to secular sounds? If so, than the Elms is the band for you. Comprised of Christopher and Owen Thomas, brothers who hail from New York, the Elms formed their Christian pop/rock outfit in 1996 with the initial name Just Visiting. The band went on tour to promote their guitar-heavy sound and was soon seen performing on stages across the nation. Gardenshow, the Elms' first album, was released that same year and was followed by a second album (also on an independent label,) Just Visiting, in 1998.

The Thomas brothers changed their band's name to the Elms in 1999 and subsequently signed with Sparrow Records. The EP The Elms was released in 2000 and one track, "Lifeboat," soared on the charts. The lineup of the Elms has shifted over the years; bassist Jeff Sutton played with the band for two years, Malcolm McLaughlin parted ways in 1999, guitarist James Thompson was a member of the Elms from 1997 till 2000 and bass guitarist Matt Erikson was with the band briefly. The Elms released their Sparrow full-length, Big Surprise, and followed it up with a 2002 tour alongside Peter Frampton and a new album, Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll.

In 2006 the Elms returned from a break from touring and recording with Chess Hotel. The long-awaited follow-up to 2002's Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll was a genuine rock album despite still retaining its Christian label. After touring stateside with Christian groups like Seven Day Jesus, the Waiting, Big Tent Revival and Sixpence None the Richer, the Elms embarked on their first European tour in the summer of 2008. The band, whose current incarnation features the Thomas brothers, along with Nathan W. Bennett (bass/vocals) and Thomas Daugherty (lead guitar/vocals), is currently hard at work on their fourth studio album.