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Archive for Conor Oberst

From the Vault: Country Music That Doesn’t Blow – Sweet Tea, Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band

Posted in Essays, Videos with tags Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst, Heartless Bastards, Mystic Valley Band, Sweet Tea on 09/19/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

We like country too. Yes, really. Well, sometimes. When it’s good. Because a lot of it isn’t. Then again, a lot of music in a lot of genres isn’t good. On the other hand, a lot of music in a lot of genres is good. Weird how that works.

Moving on.

We’re having a kanipshin after hearing the new project by Alex Maas of the Black Angels and self-described Heartless Bastard Erika Wennerstrom. It’s called Sweet Tea and sounds sweet as can be: Get converted by this touching live cover of Tim Harden’s “If I Were a Carpenter”:

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At Boise Gig, Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst Recalls Built to Spill’s Doug Martsch Doing Him a Solid

Posted in Concert Reviews, News, Reviews with tags Bright Eyes, Built to Spill, Commander Venus, Conor Oberst, Doug Martsch, Saintseneca, The Poison Oak Project, trans, Treefort Music Hall on 09/01/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Bright Eyes commander Conor Oberst shared a heartfelt and formative memory with the crowd that packed the Treefort Music Hall to see his ensemble perform tonight.

About halfway through Bright Eyes‘ 20-song set, Oberst recalled that his prior band Commander Venus opened for their idols, Built to Spill, when the latter band performed in Oberst’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. He noted that he was only 14 years old at the time.

Oberst then recounted that when Bright Eyes played to an empty Neurolux in Boise when they were starting out, he received a note from that city’s hometown hero, Built to Spill leader Doug Martsch, on which he had written his home phone number an invitation for Oberst’s band to crash at his house for the night.

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