Bright Eyes Are Back

Conor Oberst’s band is announcing their first live shows in nine years, as well as their signing to Dead Oceans.
Bright Eyes Are Back

Conor Oberst’s band is announcing their first live shows in nine years, as well as their signing to Dead Oceans.

Words: Mike LeSuer

photo by Shawn Brackbill

January 21, 2020

Almost exactly a year ago today, Conor Oberst surprise-released a monumental collaboration with Phoebe Bridgers as Better Oblivion Community Center—a no-brainer spot-filler on our Best Albums of 2019 list. Today marks the songwriter’s second annual Late January Surprise Announcement: he’s getting Bright Eyes back together. All we know so far is that the Omaha-spawned trio are playing a handful of shows later in the year, but news of their signing to Dead Oceans (with whom Oberst teamed for BOCC) seems promising.

“​Bright Eyes is not just a formative artist for me personally, but for countless people who work at Dead Oceans,” said Dead Oceans co-founder Phil Waldorf in a press release. “To get to work with a band that is part of our own origin stories in falling in love with music is the rarest of privileges. We are thrilled to be part of another great chapter in Bright Eyes enduring legacy.”

With no word on new music just yet, the last we’ve heard from the group was 2011’s The People’s Key. Watch the orchestral teaser below, and keep tabs on the #BrightEyes2020 campaign hashtag.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3xQz0k6N-4&feature=youtu.be