American Kurt Samuel Vile was born on the 3rd of January 1980 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Under the influence of artists such as Neil Young, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and Pavement, Kurt Vile began releasing his home recordings on cassettes and CD-Rs in his teens. In 2005, he formed with singer and guitarist Adam Granduciel the group The War on Drugs.
In 2008, Vile left The War on Drugs to pursue his solo career. Initially, he released the albums Constant Hitmaker (2008) and God Is Saying This to You... (2009). Also in 2009, he signed with Matador Records, through which he released the albums Childish Prodigy (2009), Smoke Ring for My Halo (2011) and Wakin on a Pretty Daze (2013).
Kurt Vile returned with a new album in 2015 when he released B'lieve I'm Goin Down.... The artist released a collaborative album entitled Lotta Sea Lice with Australian singer Courtney Barnett in 2017. The following year, he released Bottle It In. Watch My Moves, an album that was born during the COVID-19 pandemic, arrived in 2022.
Described by the artist as a love letter to his hometown, the album Philadelphia’s Been Good to Me (2026) features moments of great sensitivity. One of the highlights is the song “99 BPM,” written in tribute to producer and multi-instrumentalist Rob Laakso, a late collaborator of the musician.
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