Bright Eyes have announced the cancellation of their upcoming record release shows due to frontman Conor Oberst losing his voice.
The band were set to play multiple shows across the US later this week to celebrate the release of their latest album, ‘Five Dice, All Threes’. However, in a statement shared yesterday (September 18), the band told fans that three shows would have to be cancelled.
The affected dates included Brooklyn Steel in New York City, which was due to take place tonight (19), Saturday’s appearance at Riot Fest in Chicago (21), and their show at the Steelhouse in Omaha on Sunday (22).
“We’re heartbroken to announce that our upcoming record release shows have been cancelled,” the band said. “The warm-up shows we played earlier this week resulted in Conor losing his voice and, on the advice of doctors, we’ve made the difficult but sensible decision to prioritise rest and recuperation for the remainder of the month.”
The statement continued: “We’re working hard to reschedule these dates and will keep you updated as soon as we have more info. In the meantime, refunds will be available at the point of purchase. Thank you for your understanding, love, and support. Can’t wait to see you all soon.”
‘Five Dice, All Threes’ marks Bright Eyes’ first new record in four years, following on from ‘Down In The Weeds, Where The World Once Was’. It is set to arrive tomorrow (September 20) and can be pre-saved here.
It also sees Oberst and co. collaborate with artists including Cat Power, The National’s Matt Berninger, and the So So Glos’ Alex Orange Drink.
Speaking with NME recently about the album, the frontman recalled how the idea of joining forces with Power and Berninger arose.
“They’re both old friends of mine. Chan [Marshall, aka Cat Power], shit… I met in like 2000 and I was a fan of hers before that. I loved ‘What Would The Community Think’ when that came out in ’95 and got a chance to open for her a couple of times,” he said.
“When we were making ‘All Threes’ I could just hear her voice, so I texted her and got it sent to her. She lives in Miami now, but she sang it in her studio and sent it back.
Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes performs on stage. CREDIT: Jaime Nogales/Medios y Media/Getty Images
“It was the same with Matt where I could hear his voice in the song. I first discovered The National when ‘Alligator’ came out, so like 2005, and I just love that band. Five or six years later we ended up doing this weird podcast thing where we interviewed each other, and that turned into, ‘Now we’re drinking wine all night,’ and now we’re good friends.”
Upon announcing the album earlier this year, Bright Eyes also revealed a run of UK and European shows set for the end of 2024.
They will perform two UK shows in Wolverhampton and London in November before moving on to various cities in mainland Europe including Nijmegen, Ghent, Cologne, Berlin and Stockholm. Visit here for remaining tickets.
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