Bright Eyes have unveiled a new cover of Elliot Smith’s “St. Ides Heaven” from their upcoming album, Letting Off The Happiness: A Companion. This will be the first of three of the group’s Companion series.
Each release from the Companion series will include a cover of a selected artist the group was inspired by while recording the respective album. Most recently, Bright Eyes released reworked versions of “Contrast and Compare” and “Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh” featuring Waxahatchee and Phoebe Bridgers.
The group was formed in 1995 by a 15-year-old Conor Oberst, and will now embark on their first full North American tour in 11 years. Like the original, the cover of “St. Ides Heaven” is bursting with emotion and resembles something close to a song that would be featured in a coming-of-age film.
The band has earned acclaim over its decades-long run, with some of their songs having been covered by artists like Lorde, The Killers, Mac Miller, Dave Rawlings, Phoebe Bridgers, Snow Patrol, Jason Mraz and beabadoobee.
The group will also be going on tour this year, beginning March 23 in St. Paul, and concluding September 6 in Glasgow. They will travel through Madison, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Port Chester, Boston, Philadelphia, Norfolk, Dallas, Houston, Charleston, Augustine, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Oslo, Copenhagen, Hamberg, Prague, Berlin, Cologne, Vienna, Zurich, London, Dublin and more.