The All-American Rejects, a constant presence on rock radio in the early aughts with hits like “Swing, Swing” and “Dirty Little Secret,” are used to filling big rooms. But ahead of their next album, due out later this year, the Oklahoma-bred quartet has been drawn to more intimate spaces.

It began about a month ago, when the band accepted a last-minute offer to play a house party near the University of Southern California. It turned out to be a raucous affair—and a lightbulb moment that rearranged their entire approach to touring. “At USC, I saw a Gen Alpha kid get raised in the air by his community, and I saw the veil lift,” says frontman Tyson Ritter. “His eyes were as big as plates…and I just felt like this is something great, so why not do it again?”

Reinvigorated, the band has spent

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