Bright Eyes have returned to the stage after recovery to play a version of ‘June On The West Coast’ – check out footage below.
The US indie rock band cancelled all remaining shows last September after frontman Conor Oberst lost his voice and “underwent multiple tests to determine the cause” of his vocal problems.
The band explained at the time that he had “developed a condition that is exacerbated by excessive singing, requiring both treatment and recuperation”. They informed fans that they expected to return to the road in 2025, and that has now come to fruition.
Their first show back went down at The Van Buren in Phoenix, Arizona on Thursday (January 16), where they played a career-spanning set that included the first performance of ‘June On The West Coast’ since 2011. The track was first released on their 1998 second album ‘Letting Off The Happiness’.
See fan-captured footage of the performance below.
The band have also announced their rescheduled dates for the postponed 2024 shows, which includes a lengthy run of North American shows that will run until the end of April. See the full list of dates here and find any remaining tickets here.
Bright Eyes played:
‘Bells And Whistles’
‘El Capitan’
‘Mariana Trench’
‘We Are Nowhere And It’s Now’
‘Gold Mine Gutted’
‘Falling Out Of Love At This Volume’
‘Bas Jan Ader’
‘First Day Of My Life’
‘Rainbow Overpass’
‘Carmelita’
‘Real Feel 105’
‘Shell Games’
‘Spring Cleaning’
‘Take It Easy (Love Nothing)’
‘Old Soul Song (For The New World Order)’
‘Tiny Suicides’
‘Devil Town’
‘Road To Joy’
‘June On The West Coast’
‘The Calendar Hung Itself…’
‘One For You, One For Me’
In September, Bright Eyes released ‘Five Dice, All Threes’, their 11th studio album. The record saw Oberst and co. collaborate with artists including Cat Power, The National’s Matt Berninger and the So So Glos’ Alex Orange Drink.
Speaking about the project in an interview with NME, Oberst said: “This time, I still hope the songs resonate and have equal amounts of meaning, but as far as the sounds and approach to the music, it’s a bit lighter. The word ‘fun’ is very rarely used to describe my band, but maybe it is a bit more fun. When we last went on tour we were cruising around with a 14-piece band and strings and horns. This record is going to be just guitars; rock and roll stuff.”
