Formed in Fairfax, Virginia, in 2008, The Downtown Fiction are generally known for their pop-punk/alternative music style. Their name is a reference to the movie Pulp Fiction.

The band was created in 2008 when lead singer/guitarist/lyricist Cameron Leahy met former drummer Eric Jones in high school. They became close friends, and eventually realized their band needed a bassist, so they recruited David Pavluk, who happened to be interested in joining a band at the time. After building up a fanbase on MySpace and even touring, they were signed to Photo Finish Records, and their self titled EP was released in 2009, followed by their second EP, Best I Never Had. Shortly after, they released The Double EP which was intended to be a mix of their best songs from their first two EPs. Then, to hype up the release of their first full album and their first headlining tour, they released their first music video for the song “I Just Wanna Run” in late 2010. The album, Let’s Be Animals, was released in April of 2011. Later that year, it was announced that Eric Jones would be leaving the band. However, only a few months later, Kyle Rodgers joined as their new drummer. Previously only a touring member, Wes Dimond also became an official member. With this newly formed crew, they set out to record and release another album, but this time with Fearless Records. Losers and Kings was released three years later in 2014. In 2015, it was announced that “I Just Wanna Run” had sold over 500,000 copies–enough to be certified gold. They then began working on the Alligator Tears EP, which was released in 2016.

Throughout the years, The Downtown Fiction has toured with some very well known bands, namely bands like All Time Low, Marianas Trench, Yellowcard, and The Ready Set.