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

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 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

Words by Michael Cranston
Photos by Ben Crocker

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