Bug Hunter is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2015 by lead vocalist and guitarist Cody 'Bug' Hunter. It began as a solo project by Hunter and later formed as a full band, with members consisting of Cody Hunter, Moe Hussein, Marcus Alcantara, Jesse Gallaway, and Kyle Hodgkinson.
In the spring of 2012, Cody Hunter began writing songs as a college student while taking music classes. Hunter later accumulated 70 written songs and began performing at open mics in Seattle, Washington in 2014. While working a full-time job, Hunter recorded some of these songs in his home's closet, and independently released Surge of Confidence under the name Bug on November 20, 2015. Hunter later recruited guitarist Moe Hussein, drummer Marcus Alcantara, and bassist Jesse Gallaway, renaming the band Bug Hunter and releasing their debut studio album Torn Between a Couple on March 20, 2017.
On July 17, 2017, Bug Hunter released the single "Dear McCracken", which received attention on streaming platforms and became the band's first song to amass over a million streams on Spotify. This led to the band starting a Kickstarter campaign to fund their second studio album The Rough Draft, which would contain the single. It reached 103% of its $4,500 goal and was later released on November 20, 2018. The band then released the single "Take It Back" on September 20, 2019, appearing on their third studio album Bigger Than Myself alongside later singles "Pebbles" and "Pinecones". Bug Hunter once again used Kickstarter to fund it, receiving 154% of a $10,000 goal and releasing the album on August 20, 2020. The band's lineup changed during this time, with Gallaway additionally filling Hussein's position as guitarist and Kyle Hodgkinson joining the band to replace Alcantara as a drummer.
Bug Hunter released "2 Bed, 2 Bath (and a Ghost)", the lead single off Happiness (Without a Catch), on April 29, 2022. The album's corresponding Kickstarter campaign achieved 221% of its goal, funding the album with $33,200. Two more singles were released in 2023 in promotion of it: "Shocking Plot Twist" and "Platonic Best Friend". Their fourth studio album was released on September 8, 2023. Hunter has additionally co-hosted several seasons of the podcast Jam Mechanics with fellow musician Matt Johnston, known for his project The Narcissist Cookbook. They have also toured together annually since 2022.
On January 31, 2026, Bug Hunter set the Kickstarter for an "Album and a Half" crowdfunding project. This was to fund a fifth studio album as well as a Jam Mechanics EP featuring 4-5 songs based around one of the showâÂÂs more popular songs, "The Hook". The Kickstarter surpassed the set goal of $20,000 in 36 minutes, while Bug was still live on his kick-off stream. and went on to double the goal within 24 hours. By the time the Kickstarter ended, it had raised $68,792 from 924 backers, 344% of its original goal. In celebration Bug Hunter released a studio version of "Swallowing Gum" which had originally been the fourth track on BugâÂÂs independant album "Surge of Confidence", although this studio track was only released on Bandcamp.
Bug Hunter announced he would be continuing his annual touring tradition in a reddit post released on February 14, 2026. This tour would be solely in america and would star both Bug Hunter and The Narcissist Cookbook as headlining acts.