Conor Oberst played 2 shows @ 400 Bar in Minneapolis, MN on the 29th and 30th of December, 2007 with Nik Freitas on Guitars, Jason Boesel on Drums, Macey Taylor on Bass and Nate Walcott on Keyboards and the French Horn. During the show he made it clear that the band was not Bright Eyes and that they had yet to select a band name. A show on the 1st of February has them billed as ‘Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band.’ The Mystic Valley Band includes Taylor Hollingsworth as lead guitarist.
In November 2007, it was reported that Oberst would work on a solo record with Jake Bellows, and that he and M. Ward would start a band and perform two late December shows in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Contrary to what was believed, the shows were not played with M. Ward, but rather with Nik Freitas and Jason Boesel. They played 13 new songs and 3 Bright Eyes songs. They also played a show in February in Mexico City, Mexico.
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band have announced that they will be playing at the 2008 Reading and Leeds Festivals. In addition, they will also be performing at the Electric Picnic in Ireland in August 2008, the Austin City Limits festival in September and also at the Great Escape Festival in Sydney, Australia in early October 2008. The debut album will be released in the UK on Wichita on 4th august and a day later on Merge Records in the US. |
