Okkervil River (solo) & Damien Jurado (9/21 Show)

As of August 1, 2021, all guests, artists, and staff will be required to show proof of either full vaccination -OR- negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours prior to entry alongside a government-issued ID. Official copies, photo copies, and digital photos of COVID-19 documentation are all acceptable.

From October 15, 2021 onward, Space will move toward a vaccination-only policy and negative COVID-19 tests will no longer be accepted. Please plan accordingly if you plan to attend a show on or after October 15.

Regardless of vaccination status, all guests, artists, and staff will be required to wear a mask over their nose and mouth while inside the venue. Masks will be available at the box office for those who arrive without one.

ABOUT OKKERVIL RIVER

Over the course of their career, Okkervil River has released nine albums that have given front man Will Sheff a reputation as one of the greatest working songwriters in the country. As Sheff and his shifting lineup of players have traveled the world many times over, they’ve made fans ranging from Lou Reed to Barack Obama and been praised by outlets from the New York Times to NPR to Pitchfork, who called Sheff “One of indie rock’s most ambitious thinkers”.

Last year saw Okkervil River’s two-decades-plus trek around the globe captured in A Dream in the Dark, an expansive release anthologizing 20 years of live performance, spanning from pin drop listening rooms to stadium stages - released on ATO Records.

In addition to his work with Okkervil River, Sheff composes for film and television, has written for the Times, McSweeney’s, Gawker and Rolling Stone, worked as a producer on psych-rock legend Roky Erickson’s critically-acclaimed comeback album True Love Cast Out All Evil, and released his directorial film debut Down Down the Deep River in 2015.

ABOUT DAMIEN JURADO

On The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania, Damien Jurado gathers up ten stories of people determined not to be broken by their dire circumstances. “The world is a liar, the stars are a must,” he sings over brushed drums, a circling bassline, and acoustic guitar on “Helena,” which opens his 17th album, the first release from Damien’s own Maraqopa Records. Dire circumstances have long been fixtures of Jurado’s songs, which are filled with ghosts, killers, cruel lovers, and the occasional UFO cult or false messiah. But here, the scenes are earthy, drawn from ordinary but no less immense calamities: hurricanes moving toward town, strained connections, amnesiacs in the front yard. On The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania, Jurado pulls the curtains shut, blocking out “the light now embarrassed and afraid of the dark,” as he sings on “Tom,” one of the album’s haunting numbers, only to throw them open the exact moment sunshine needs to come flooding in.

Known for working fast—he’s usually got a handful of finished albums at the ready at any given time—the compositions here are uncluttered, but not slight, decorated by Beatles-esque bass-lines, drums, and strings. Inspired by the sound of records like Lou Reed’s The Bells and Paul McCartney’s Ram, Jurado produced the new album himself, employing “a certain dryness,” which allowed the songs to feel cavernous, even “after spending so long in reverb land,” Jurado laughs.

-Jason P. Woodbury, Aquarium Drunkard

Host or Publisher Evanston SPACE