08 September 2023 - 0 Comments

Welcome back Bright Eyes! The revered American band make their long-awaited return to New Zealand this Spring. Having last toured the country 18 years ago in support of REM, it’s great news that the three friends - Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis, and Nate Walcott - are back together, bringing their vast career-spanning repertoire down under.

Bright Eyes will visit Auckland’s Powerstation on Tuesday November 7, Christchurch’s Ngaio Marsh on Wednesday 8, before finishing up at Wellington’s San Fran on Thursday November 9.

The national tour will be a celebration of the decades-ranging Bright Eyes canon: Early material, re-works, fan favorites, and covers, as well music from their most recent album Down In The Weeds, Where The World Once Was (Dead Oceans, 2020). With a wide-traversing sound that ranges from fuzzy folk to rock n roll, country twang to electronic inflections, the sharp songwriting and musicianship is all anchored in Bright Eyes’ singular ability to flip deep intimacy into something universal.

My Live Nation members can secure tickets first during a pre-sale starting 12pm, Monday September 11 and running until 12pm, Tuesday 12th September.

Tickets for all shows are on sale 12pm, Tuesday September 12th. For complete tour and ticket information, visit livenation.co.nz.

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 23 years the 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 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.

BRIGHT EYES

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOREVER TOUR

NOVEMBER 2023

Tuesday 7th Nov - Auckland, Powerstation

Wednesday 8th Nov - Christchurch, Ngaio Marsh

Thu 9 Nov - Wellington, San Fran

TICKETS ON SALE TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 12, 12PM

Live Nation pre-sale: Monday September 11, 12pm – Friday August 18, 9am

For complete tour and ticket and information, visit: livenation.co.nz

Comments

Return to News Archive