Droste was born in Massachusetts, the son of Diana (née Forbes) and Bruce F. Droste. His maternal grandfather was conductor and musicologist Elliot Forbes. Through his mother's Forbes line, he is related to singer China Forbes. He attended elementary school at Shady Hill School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where his mother is a music teacher, and high school at Concord Academy in Concord, Massachusetts. He attended high school with Refinery29 founder Philippe von Borries. He attended Hampshire College for one year in 1999 before transferring to and graduating from New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study in 2003.
Droste began composing and performing songs on a solo basis as Grizzly Bear, releasing the album Horn of Plenty in 2004, with some contributions from drummer Christopher Bear. The two then joined with Chris Taylor, and eventually Daniel Rossen, to form the current four-piece band. Droste has said of the gestation of the band, "Daniel [Rossen] and I are the principal songwriters, but we also have the most issues with being performers. I strongly reject the notion that I have to do stage kicks or be some sort of persona. I respect artists that have an act, a look, a shtick. That’s all fine and dandy, but with our songs, it would feel like the biggest farce. It took us a long time to get comfortable; the whole thing was four people growing into each other."
In a 2020 episode of Lunch Therapy, Droste announced that he left Grizzly Bear to become a therapist.

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