Okkervil River

Okkervil River drew their moniker from a concise tale penned by Russian writer Tatyana Tolstaya. The Lone Star State indie rock ensemble revolves around scholarly songwriter Will Sheff, the lone unchanging figure across the group’s history. Their sound encompasses vivid Americana and pastoral folk alongside boisterous indie rock and electronic-inflected psych-pop. Regional staples by the mid-2000s, the band achieved wider recognition through praised albums such as Black Sheep Boy and Stage Names, later adding Silver Gymnasium among their notable later works.

Will Robinson Sheff and Seth Warren first crossed paths as high-school classmates in Meriden, New Hampshire, before heading to separate colleges. They reunited years afterward in Austin and assembled Okkervil River alongside bassist Zachary Thomas. As a trio they issued several EPs, among them Stars Too Small to Use in 2000, prior to encountering multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Meiburg at a neighborhood tavern. Meiburg soon became a member, and the band made an initial notable impression at the SXSW festival in March 2000.

Producer Brian Beattie witnessed their SXSW set and consented to oversee the debut full-length, Don’t Fall in Love with Everyone You See. Warren moved to California amid the sessions and was succeeded by drummer Mark Pedini; concurrently the group signed with Jagjaguwar, which issued the finished album in January 2002. A follow-up, Down the River of Golden Dreams, appeared the next year. By early 2003 Pedini had departed, leaving the others without a drummer ahead of another SXSW appearance. Travis Nelson stepped in temporarily before securing a permanent role, as did lap steel guitarist Howard Draper.

Already established in Texas, Okkervil River gained national attention with the 2005 release of Black Sheep Boy and the subsequent Black Sheep Boy Appendix EP. Both projects employed an extensive roster of players, while the lineup shifted further when Scott Brackett entered on keyboards and Pat Pestorius assumed bass duties from Zach Thomas. International interest grew when Virgin Records reissued the Black Sheep Boy recordings across Europe. Despite mounting acclaim, several members divided their energies between Okkervil River and Shearwater, the latter begun in 2001 as a side project by Meiburg and Sheff. Once Shearwater developed into a primary concern, Meiburg exited to focus solely on that band. Brian Cassidy was brought aboard, and the refreshed configuration debuted on 2007’s Stage Names.

Stage Names reached number 62 on the Billboard charts, the band’s strongest showing at that point. Three months after its release, pianist Justin Sherburn joined. Further personnel shifts occurred in 2008 when Cassidy departed and the Wrens’ Charlie Bissell filled the vacancy, touring through the summer before handing the position to guitarist Lauren Gurgiolo. With the updated roster stabilized, Okkervil River issued their fifth album, The Stand Ins, that autumn. Television appearances and tour commitments ensued, along with an invitation to serve as Roky Erickson’s backing band on True Love Cast Out All Evil. Frontman Sheff produced the well-received record, a task he repeated for the band’s own 2011 outing, I Am Very Far. Sheff revisited his past on 2013’s Silver Gymnasium, an eleven-song tribute to his hometown of Meridian, New Hampshire. Subsequent years brought Sheff a series of personal and professional difficulties. By 2016 he had reconstructed both himself and the group, resulting in the intimate Away. Two years later Sheff and his colleagues delivered In the Rainbow Rain, a colorful, upbeat, and stylistically varied set that marked a departure from the rustic folk of the prior release.