After having released Evil Friends in 2013, Portugal. The Man began work on a new project, under the working title Gloomin + Doomin. This album was eventually shelved, partly due to a conversation between John Gourley and his father and the discovery of a lost ticket stub from the Woodstock festival. Work began on the Woodstock album shortly thereafter, involving new music as well as material from the Gloomin + Doomin era.