Bright Eyes began in 1995 in an Omaha basement as a recording moniker for a then 15-year old Conor Oberst’s work with producer/multi-instrumentalist Mike Mogis. Mogis and composer/arranger/multi-instrumentalist Nate Walcott became fully fledged members in 2006.
Over the last two-plus decades, as Bright Eyes has released one after another time capsule LP’s – urgent dispatches from transcendent, fleeting eras of our collective lives – they’ve also simultaneously been assembling a robust, mature, narratively cohesive discography, currently receiving the reissue treatment via Dead Oceans. Since 2022, they been slowly re-releasing their nine albums as part of a “companion” series, with each album accompanied by a new EP made up of re-recorded songs featuring new musicians (including Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings, Waxahatchee, First Aid Kit, Phoebe Bridgers, and more), as well as a cover song.
Over the course of 28 years Bright Eyes’ impact and influence has been significant throughout pop-culture, appearing in countless films and television shows. Their songs have been covered by dozens of artists including Lorde, The Killers, Mac Miller, Phoebe Bridgers, Jason Mraz and beabadoobee, and sampled by rappers like Young Thug and Lil Peep. For a band that’s often been perceived as an outlier, the depth, breadth, and impact of the Bright Eyes canon is remarkable.