The group formed in March 2000 from the ashes of a previous musical effort - Ghistor - formed by Shawn, Amanda, and Arthur while studying art and design at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. A few years later, after a chance meeting with Michael, who had recently relocated to Brooklyn from his hometown Philadelphia, the former classmates reunited, this time with Shawn on vocals.

Stellastarr* played their first gig at the Luna Lounge on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in July 2000 and began releasing a limited series of independent/homemade CDEPs shortly after. To date, they have toured with Jane's Addiction, The Raveonettes, Placebo, The Killers and The Subways, among others.

Stellastarr*'s second album, entitled Harmonies for the Haunted, was released in America on September 13, 2005.

Stellastarr (styled as Stellastarr*) is an American indie rock band based in New York City. It is composed of Shawn Christensen (vocals, rhythm guitar), Amanda Tannen (bass, vocals), Arthur Kremer (drums, percussion, keyboards), and Michael Jurin (lead guitar, vocals).