Headlights officially formed in the summer of 2004, though the band's history goes much earlier than that. In the summer of 1996, Headlights members Seth Fein and Tristan Wraight joined with Adam Fein and Mike Zolfo to form the band Absinthe Blind (more information about Absinthe Blind is available at my Absinthe Blind fansite). Absinthe Blind's following steadily grew, and by the middle of 2000, Absinthe Blind was a force in the Champaign-Urbana music scene. Along the way, Absinthe Blind picked up the two other current members of Headlights: Erin Fein in the fall of 1999, and Brett Sanderson in the fall of 2002.

However, on August 2, 2003, Adam, Absinthe Blind's lead singer, decided to leave the band (more about this from the Buzz entertainment weekly). After one last tour that ended in September, only Erin, Seth, Brett, and Tristan were left. They originally planned to continue on as Absinthe Blind, with a tour planned for the first half of 2004. However, it took longer than this for the foursome to regroup. When they finally did, it was the summer of 2004, and they decided to take on a new name. The first one chosen was "enemies", but it was already copyrighted by a number of preexisting bands. The group then settled on Headlights, which had earlier been a moniker under which Adam and Erin performed together in shows in Champaign-Urbana in the fall of 2003.

The band kicked things off with the release of a four-song Enemies EP along with a US tour to promote it. This inaugural tour started in Champaign, then headed out to Georgia where they began a trip that crossed the country westwards all the way to California before heading eastwards back again to Champaign. After this tour, Headlights continued to play in the midwest for the remainder of the fall with a brief foray into Pittsburgh and New York.

The first major change in the band occurred in November 2004 with the departure of drummer Seth Fein, who left to pursue other interests. Headlights then shifted to a three-piece band, with Brett taking over Seth's drumming duties. 2005 then began with tour dates in the midwest and south. The midwest shows continued into the summer, which was marked by the release of a new EP on June 15, and ended with a bang on September 28 with an appearance at Champaign-Urbana's Pygmalion Music Festival.

But that wasn't it for Headlights in 2005. Officially signing with the Polyvinyl record label on November 2, 2005, Headlights then embarked on a tour of the midwest and east coast for the rest of the year. 2006 promises even more, with a 7" vinyl record scheduled for the spring and a full length album scheduled for the fall. And it'll only get better from here!