Conor Oberst

Bright Eyes has revealed details for its next batch of Companions catalog reissues, which will arrive Nov. 11 on Dead Oceans. The Companions editions of albums Lifted or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground, I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn all include EPs with six new recordings featuring guest performances by Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, Becky Stark and Maria Taylor. Lifted includes a cover of “November” by Azure Ray, I’m Wide Awake boasts a version of “Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel” by Townes Van Zandt and Digital Ash is appended with a take on “Agenda Suicide” by fellow Nebraska band The Faint. Also out today is one new contemporary re-record from each of the three EPs: “You Will. You? Will. You? Will. You? Will,” (originally from Lifted)...

At a Houston show over the weekend, Bright Eyes singer Conor Oberst abruptly left the stage after performing only two songs at White Oak Music Hall. Brooklyn Vegan reported that Oberst left the stage after two songs, “Dance And Sing” and “Lover I Don’t Have To Love.” Attendees of the Houston show took to Twitter to explain that the other lingering members of Bright Eyes invited fans to sing karaoke for a few songs until the venue officially canceled the show. As Oberst never returned to the stage, the venue refunded and emailed ticket buyers, “Due to unforeseen circumstances, Bright Eyes was unable to perform.” A representative for Oberst has not returned SPIN‘s request for comment. Bright Eyes are currently slated to perform tonight (May 23) at New Orleans’ Orpheum Theater. This is a disa...

After hitting the road (for the first time in over a decade) in support of last year’s Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was this summer, Bright Eyes are heading back out on tour in March. The trio of Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis and Nathaniel Walcott just put out a baker’s dozen dates throughout the midwest, southeast, and east coast, ending in Virginia on April 10. While the spring tour happens to include Cassadaga‘s 15th birthday and no stops in New York or anywhere on the west coast, perhaps the rest of us can hold out hope for the unlikely event that Oberst and company will do something to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground in August. After all, they’re reissuing some of their catalog through Dead Oceans in 2022, so...

If you thought Tiny Desk Concerts would be impossible without all band members in the same room, you don’t know Bright Eyes very well. The indie rockers presented their own spin on NPR’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert Monday, as they performed four tracks, “Mariana Trench,” “Pan and Broom,” “Persona Non Grata” and “Shell Games.” The first three, of course, come from the group’s new record Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was, while the last derives from the group’s 2011 The People’s Key album. The 18-minute clip features Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis performing from ARC Studios in Omaha, and Nate Walcott joined by Becky Stark and their daughter in Los Angeles’ Lucy’s Meat Market. Despite the distance, the guys’ connection couldn’t be stronger as they share...

Bright Eyes are gearing up to release their tenth studio album, Down in the Weeds Where the World Once Was, this summer. And while we’ve heard a few songs off the project already, there’s one topic we won’t be hearing about: Donald Trump. Though the band was praised for its 2005 protest song “When the President Talks to God,” which slammed President George W. Bush, Conor Oberst recently explained to the Times why he won’t be expressing his qualms with the current administration through music. “Trump is a different animal from Bush,” he said.“Bush had an ideology and the move to war was easy to protest. But comedians say it’s hard to satirize Trump because he’s the most ridiculous version of himself to start with, and I find the same with writing. How do you approach someone just ...

Bright Eyes are gearing up to release their tenth studio album, Down in the Weeds Where the World Once Was, this summer. And while we’ve heard a few songs off the project already, there’s one topic we won’t be hearing about: Donald Trump. Though the band was praised for its 2005 protest song “When the President Talks to God,” which slammed President George W. Bush, Conor Oberst recently explained to the Times why he won’t be expressing his qualms with the current administration through music. “Trump is a different animal from Bush,” he said.“Bush had an ideology and the move to war was easy to protest. But comedians say it’s hard to satirize Trump because he’s the most ridiculous version of himself to start with, and I find the same with writing. How do you approach someone just ...