As has been well publicized for anyone who has tuned into any music or entertainment website the past few days, this week is SXSW down in Austin. While it seems like every single band in the world has stormed the Texas capital, well, believe it or not, some haven’t. Some actually have the power and buzz surrounding them that they don’t need to take part in the festivities and this is definitely a good thing. Just look at Imagine Dragons. Instead of rushing down south like many of their contemporaries, this week the band finds themselves in Canada on a headlining run with a West Coast run next. How did these guys manage to buck conventional wisdom by playing to packed houses in the U.S. and Canada during a time that’s usually a no-tour zone?

Band founder/front man Dan Reynolds has been playing music since he was a teen, but he officially founded the band while studying communications and music at Brigham Young University in Utah. He brought in guitarist Wayne Sermon and eventually bassist Ben McKee and drummer Daniel Platzman to round out the lineup. The quartet immediately clicked, winning battle of the bands competitions in both Utah and Nevada before heading to Las Vegas to give this music thing a real go of it.

After self-releasing a couple of EPs in 2008 and 2010 the band got the stroke of luck it needed to garner widespread local attention. For Imagine Dragons, that came in the form of Train singer Pat Monahan falling ill before the 2010 Bite of Las Vegas Festival. Summoned to take their places, the group played to 26,000 fans and the show was well received by local media, who rewarded the band with multiple awards including “Best CD of 2011″ (Las Vegas SEVEN Magazine) “Best Local Indie Band 2010″ (Las Vegas Weekly) and “Las Vegas’ Newest Must See Live Act” (Las Vegas CityLife).

Finishing up a third EP in 2011, the band generated enough praise to ink a deal with Interscope Records. Their first EP with Interscope did well, peaking at no. 40 on the Billboard 200 and their first single “It’s Time” went platinum as a single, which isn’t easy. The band’s hard work and hype collided into one victorious moment when their first album, Night Visions, peaked at no. 2 on the same charts, selling 83,000 in its first week. By now, everyone should know “Radioactive.” The song is everywhere and has gone platinum as well.

When all is said and done, it’s easy to see why Imagine Dragons are able to skip SXSW for their own tour. It’s not easy to have one huge platinum single, nevertheless two. Yet that’s what they’ve accomplished in four short years and with that track record, it’s easy to understand why they’re touring at a time when many are still looking for their big break.

All Photos (c) Daniela Montelongo