Monsters of Folk, the indie supergroup comprised of Jim James, Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis, and M. Ward, will release its self-titled debut album on September 22 via Shangri-La Music. To accompany this epic event, the group is setting out on a tour of the world, touching down all over the place to blow people’s minds with their epic ways. As if such a possibility weren’t enticing enough, the band is partnering with Air Traffic Control, a organization focusing on musicians’ philanthropic and social change work, and will donate $1 from every ticket sold on the tour to local non-profits. Now you have personal and moral imperatives to attend.

Tour dates are as follows:

10.13.09 Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum
10.14.09 Portland, OR Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
10.15.09 Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
10.17.09 Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
10.18.09 Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre
10.20.09 San Diego, CA @ Spreckels Theatre
10.21.09 Phoenix, AZ @ Orpheum Theater
10.22.09 Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl
10.28.09 Omaha, NE @ Holland Center
10.29.09 Minneapolis, MN @ Orpheum Theatre
10.30.09 Chicago, IL @ Auditorium Theatre
10.31.09 Louisville, KY @ Louisville Palace Theatre
11.02.09 Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
11.03.09 Boston, MA @ The Orpheum
11.06.09 New York, NY @ United Palace
11.08.09 New York, NY @ Beacon Theater
11.09.09 Philadelphia, PA @ Academy of Music
11.12.09 Stockholm, SE @ Philadelphia Church
11.14.09 Berlin, DE @ Huxleys
11.15.09 Copenhagen, DK @ Vega
11.17.09 London, UK @ Troxy
11.18.09 Paris, FR @ Elysee Montmartre
11.19.09 Koln, DE @ E-Werk
11.21.09 The Hague, NL @ Crossing Border
11.22.09 Antwerp, BE @ Crossing Border

As if the emo world needed something else to cry about: Bright Eyes, the emotive, long-standing project of Conor Oberst, is set to release its final album under that particular moniker in the fall of 2010, after recording tracks this coming fall and winter. Interviewed by the Omaha World Herald, Saddle Creek president Robb Nansel claims that Oberst “is closing the chapter on that moniker. I think he feels like Bright Eyes has a certain association, for better or worse. I think he’s trying to distance himself a little bit from what that means to people.” Whether or not this final Bright Eyes LP signals Oberst’s departure from Saddle Creek is unclear.

Monsters of Folk, bka Conor Oberst, Jim James, M. Ward and Mike Mogis have just made available the first track off their forthcoming self-titled album. It is called “Say Please” and you can get it by submitting, and we do mean submitting, your email address to their web overlords. The B-side to “Say Please,” entitled “Small Fork on the Outside” can be had by anyone willing to cry like a baby as Conor Oberst gives them a purple nurple. Welcome to the Record Industry 3.0.

Conor Oberst and his Mystic Valley Band played a Fourth of July set this past weekend in New York’s Battery Park. People cheered. We would have had we been there. Before they leave town and continue their currently unfolding jaunt across the continent, they’ll all be stopping by the Late Show with David Letterman tonight to play “Spoiled” from their recent full-length jammer Outer South. Stay up late or set your DVR—show starts at 11:35 PM. People will be cheering at the dates below as well:

07.07 Baltimore, MD @ Otto Bar
07.08 Vienna, VA Wolf Trap
07.09 Morgantown, WV @ 123 Pleasant St
07.10 Wilmington, DE Frawley Stadium *
07.11 Lowell, MA Lelacheur Park*
07.12 Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls
07.13 Columbus, OH @ Wexner Center for the Arts
07.14 Chicago, IL @ Metro
07.15 Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
07.17 Portland, ME Maine Street Pier*
07.18 Wappinger Falls, NY Dutchess Stadium*
07.19 Lewiston, NY Art Park*
07.20 Bloomington, IN @ Jakes Nightclub
07.21 Athens, GA @ 40 Watt
07.22 Los Angeles, CA @ Sunset Junction
07.27 Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
07.28 San Diego, CA @ Street Scene
07.29 San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands Festival

* = w/ Wilco

Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, and singer/songwriter M. Ward have teamed up again under the pseudonym Monsters of Folk, and this time to record a self-titled studio album set to hit shelves September 22nd, Relix reports. The trio have toured together off and on since 2004, usually with three individual sets followed by a collaborative finale. Mike Mogis, Bright Eyes member and Saddle Creek studio svengali, is also producing the supergroup’s debut album and is listed among the three songwriters on their cryptic website. Though nothing is official, a Fall tour following the album’s release is probable. We’re not sure where the monster part comes in, but we think it might have something to do with Jim James’ beard.

—Nikki Turner