Fleet Foxes are an American indie folk band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2006. The band currently consists of Robin Pecknold (vocals, guitar), Skyler Skjelset (guitar, mandolin, backing vocals), Casey Wescott (keyboards, mandolin, backing vocals), Christian Wargo (bass, guitar, backing vocals), and Morgan Henderson (upright bass, guitar, woodwinds, violin, percussion, saxophone). Founding members Pecknold and Skjelset have been the only constants through the group's history, with the former serving as leader and principal songwriter.

The band came to prominence in 2008 with the release of their second EP Sun Giant and their eponymous debut album on Sub Pop, both of which met with widespread critical acclaim. Their second album Helplessness Blues (2011) earned further praise and became their greatest commercial success to date, reaching number 4 on the Billboard 200. Following a three-year break, Fleet Foxes reconvened in 2016 to record their third album Crack-Up, which was released the following year on Nonesuch Records. This was followed by 2020's Shore, a de facto Pecknold solo album made without the involvement of his bandmates and released through the Anti- label.

The group's work has been consistently lauded by music critics, who have praised their lyricism and production style and often noted the band's use of refined instrumentation and vocal harmonies. The band's debut album was ranked by Rolling Stone among the best of the decade and was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The band has been nominated for two Grammy Awards, the first for Best Folk Album in 2012 for Helplessness Blues and the second for Best Alternative Music Album in 2022 for Shore.

Robin Pecknold and Skyler Skjelset both attended Lake Washington High School in Kirkland, a suburb of Seattle, and soon became close friends. Pecknold and Skjelset bonded over an appreciation of Bob Dylan and Neil Young and began making music together. Their parents influenced their musical tastes early on—Skjelset's mother Peggi was a keen listener to both Dylan and Hank Williams while Pecknold's father Greg was a member of The Fathoms, a local 1960s soul group. The two shared an interest in the music of Dylan and Brian Wilson. Pecknold played bass for Seattle's Dolour on a US tour in 2005, shortly before forming the first incarnation of Fleet Foxes.

Originally going by the name "The Pineapples", a name clash with another local band prompted a change and Pecknold decided upon "Fleet Foxes", suggesting that it was "evocative of some weird English activity like fox hunting". Pecknold took up the role of principal songwriter, both singing and playing guitar, while Skjelset played lead guitar. The original lineup was filled out by Casey Wescott on keyboards and backing vocals, Bryn Lumsden on bass and Nicholas Peterson on drums and backing vocals.

Pecknold's late-sixties pop style caught the attention of the Seattle producer Phil Ek and he helped them record their first demo in 2006, the self-released Fleet Foxes EP. Ek was impressed with the band's songwriting, and on hearing Pecknold for the first time, noted, "It was obvious he had talent coming out of his ass." By late 2006 the Seattle press began to take notice of the band; Tom Scanlon of the Seattle Times stated that he was impressed with the band's lyrics and musical maturity. By the end of the year, Lumsden had been replaced on bass by Craig Curran, who would also handle many of the band's vocal harmonies.

With growing popularity on the local circuit, the band set about making their first album in early 2007, spending time in the studio with producer Ek in addition to recording material at home. However, funds for recording were tight, so the band members cobbled together what funds they had, which limited the time they had in the studio, and so the majority of the tracks were recorded in various band members' apartments, other spaces, or the basement of Pecknold's parents' house.

Fleet Foxes were becoming increasingly popular and by late 2007, they had attracted over a quarter of a million song plays over two months on their Myspace site. Although the band had not released any of their recordings, they benefited from word of mouth exposure and their success soon translated into a record deal, signing with Warner Music subsidiary record label Sub Pop on January 18, 2008. The band's frontman, Robin Pecknold, attributes much of their success and popularity to illegal file sharing.