OKKERVIL RIVER PLAYING A BENEFIT FOR WHALEBACK AND THE UPPER VALLEY LAND TRUST
Western Terrestrials to Open August 23 Show
The celebrated indie-rock band Okkervil River will be making their long-overdue homecoming to the Upper Valley this August, playing a special outdoor benefit concert on Friday the 23rd at Whaleback Mountain, with all proceeds going directly to Whaleback and to environmental nonprofit The Upper Valley Land Trust. This tour marks Okkervil River’s first-ever public concert in the region where the band originally came together – it’s also their first show in two decades in their original lineup.
Over the course of nine albums Okkervil River have been praised by The New York Times, NPR, Uncut and Pitchfork, who declared frontman Will Sheff “One of indie rock’s most ambitious thinkers.” They’ve appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Conan O’Brien and made fans from Lou Reed to Barack Obama. But they first got their start back in humble Meriden, NH.
Meriden native Will Sheff started the first incarnation of the band that would become Okkervil River at Kimball Union Academy, along with Meriden’s Seth Warren-Crow and boarding student Zachary Thomas. Years later, the three moved down to Austin Texas, where they made a name for themselves in the same vibrant indie scene that nurtured bands like Spoon and Explosions in the Sky before eventually releasing the album Black Sheep Boy, later named by Newsweek as one of the greatest albums of all time. The band lineup expanded and altered as Okkervil River toured the world extensively, from Coachella to Red Rocks, from Tokyo to Sydney. However, Okkervil River never played a public show in the Upper Valley until now.
Whaleback is a beloved local ski mountain that, when forced to enter foreclosure, was rescued by the local community and transformed into a nonprofit. The Upper Valley Land Trust (UVLT) focuses its mission on preserving natural ecosystems, habitat, farmland and trails in 45 New Hampshire and Vermont towns along the upper Connecticut River valley. As bandmembers grew up playing in the local forests and skiing at Whaleback with parents and siblings, both organizations are very close to the hearts of the bandmembers, who are thrilled at the opportunity to raise funds to help them in their mission. “It's a great excuse for me to visit my favorite place on earth with my dear old friends and to raise money for two organizations I believe in,” said Sheff.
UVLT President Jeanie McIntyre says “UVLT and Whaleback are both organizations that have grown out of the passion, activism, skill and generosity of the Upper Valley community. It totally makes sense that we collaborate in what is sure to be a really fun musical homecoming in a venue that’s special to so many.”
Whaleback, UVLT and Okkervil River are proud to partner with Vermont opening band Western Terrestrials – whose music threads the needle between paying homage to classic country and forging their own brand of unapologetic, hard-driving cosmic American music – for this special and unrepeatable night of entertainment for a good cause.
Contacts:
Will Sheff
Alex Lahood
Nick Charyk
Jeanie McIntyre