Hey, Chels was founded by Jacque Mendez (New Way On) on vocals and electric piano, Stephanie Presz (the Newports) on drums, Kevin White (Squarecrow, Londons Falling) on guitar, and Ricky Schmidt (Western Settings, Caskitt) on bass.

The debut self-titled EP, released in 2018, was produced by Patrick Ryan Heaney (Cage the Elephant, Cold War Kids, the War On Drugs). It was released on vinyl in early 2019 via Via La Escalera Records, Wiretap Records, and A-F Records.

Their full-length Everything Goes, recorded by Pat Hills at Earthtone Studios in Sacramento, premiered online for free on May 1, 2020, with a vinyl edition planned for later that year via Brainworm Records. A video was produced for the album track “You’ve Got You Now.”

In Autumn 2020, Brainworm Records released a charity 4-way split vinyl 7-inch, Shine A Light Volume 1, featuring Hey, Chels along with Typesetter (Chicago, IL), Sunshine State (Gainesville, FL), and Lousy Advice (Sacramento, CA). All proceeds were donated to the Color of Change online racial justice organization, dedicated to designing "campaigns powerful enough to end practices that unfairly hold black people back, and champion solutions that move us all forward." Limited to 300 copies on vinyl.