The group's genesis was improvised by brothers Paul DeGeorge and Joe DeGeorge at a casual backyard concert hosted by Paul, who had intended to showcase some of the bands on his independent label, Eskimo Laboratories. When the bands all canceled, Paul quickly wrote some Potter-related songs and recruited Joe to perform them with him. The act was an unexpected hit, and the DeGeorge brothers decided to soldier on with the quirky project. They developed on-stage personas -- in keeping with their respective ages, Paul portrayed Harry Potter in Year 7, while Joe depicted Harry during Year 4 -- and began dressing in the manner of Hogwart's students with crew-neck sweaters, ties, and glasses.

Confined initially to local and regional performances, Harry and the Potters released their self-titled debut album in 2003. They embarked on a tour of the United States and Canada the following year, as well as releasing a second album, Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock. In 2005, Paul and Joe traveled to the U.K. to play a number of dates; a third album, Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love, debuted a year later. In addition to their musical aspirations, the brothers also co-founded the Harry Potter Alliance, an organization of wizard rock bands that supported a number of charities and encouraged fans to participate in social activism. The group continued on and off into the 2010s, crowd-funding the recording of several occasion-based works such as a remix album, a Christmas album, and a live album (the latter recorded at the New York Public Library). ~ Katherine Fulton