It’s a birthday party! Bright Eyes will celebrate the 21st anniversary of their seminal albums I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn with three special shows next summer. The two albums were released on the same day back in January 2005, and each album will be played in full at each date.
Bright Eyes will bring the special show to the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheater on May 6, Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on May 23, and then on June 6, they will wrap up the event at Forest Hills Stadium in New York, where the albums were written.
It wouldn’t be a true party without some special guests. Tilly and the Wall, The Moldy Peaches, and Built to Spill will join Bright Eyes for one show each. At the shows, I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn will be split into two sets with each night’s guest band playing in between them.
As for the celebration falling on an unconventional, non-round anniversary number, lead singer Conor Oberst addressed that in a statement. “I have always hated my birthdays but I love parties,” he said. “And I remember being really excited when I turned 21 for obvious reasons. So when the idea came up to celebrate the 21st anniversary of these two records who were born on the same day, Nate [Walcott], Mike [Mogis] and I took a long look in our full-length mirror and finally said ‘Fuck it, why not?’… It will be the 3 of us and many old friends coming together to make what will hopefully be, this magical thing happen.”
Tickets for the shows go on sale Friday, Dec. 12 at 10 a.m. local time with an artist presale beginning on Wednesday, December 10 at 10 a.m. local time. Fans can find more details at the band’s website, http://thisisbrighteyes.com/tour. A dollar from each ticket will go to the band’s nonprofit Poison Oak Project, which aims to advance equity for LGBTQ+ people and trans people.
Earlier this year, Bright Eyes wrapped an expansive world tour in support of their 2024 LP Five Dice, All Threes and new 2025 EP Kids Table. In September, Oberst reflected on the concept of album anniversaries and shows commemorating them in an interview with Rolling Stone. “Bright Eyes is walking an interesting line because we have new music, but we tried to make set lists that were pretty career-spanning,” he said. Even so, Oberst still recognized the unique appeal of hearing Bright Eyes’ sixth album played in full. “I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning is our biggest commercial record,” Oberst said. “That was an experiment. All of the records are kind of an experiment,” he said, adding, “I’m Wide Awake just happened to hit the zeitgeist of the moment more than other ones did.”
