As alerted previously, Conor Oberst yesterday released his new solo album Upside Down Mountain, his first major label release (on Nonesuch).  The new album is a tour de force and possibly his best.  It’s receiving near-universal reviews (ours, soon come).  Yep, there will always be Oberst haters, but the album strikes us as his most cogent, heartfelt and open in quite some time.  The New York Times’ esteemed Jon Pareles has observed: “All of Mr. Oberst’s gifts align on Upside Down Mountain.”  We couldn’t agree more.

To kick off the album’s late night campaign, Oberst appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night, backed by the dynamic Dawes (who will back Oberst on his impending tour–check the dates at bottom).  Check out below their performance of great track Zigzagging Toward the Light, off the just-released album.  Oberst has always been backed by great ensembles (Bright Eyes, the Mystic Valley Band, The Felice Brothers, etc.), but we predict that Dawes will be the pick of the litter.  You can see/hear it below in Dawes’ background vocals and Taylor Goldsmith’s electrifying guitar playing at song’s end.

After, check out the online exclusive of Oberst discussing his first concert experience.

Conor Oberst 2014 Tour Dates:
05/20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade NYC
05/21 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *
05/22 – Westbury, NY @ The Space at Westbury *
05/23 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club *
05/24 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club *
05/25 – Munhall, PA @ Carnegie Library Music Hall of Homestead *
05/27 – Cincinnati, OH @ Taft Theatre *
05/29 – Chicago, IL @ Metro *
05/30 – Chicago, IL @ Metro *
05/31 – Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater *
06/01 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
06/02 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
06/04 – Omaha, NE @ Sokol Auditorium *
06/05 – Columbia, MO @ The Blue Note *
06/06 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium *
06/07 – Lexington, KY @ Buster’s *
07/02 – Kansas CIty, MO @ Crossroads KC *
07/03 – Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck *
07/04 – Des Moines, IA @ 80/35 Festival
07/08 – Manchester, UK @ Cathedral *
07/09 – London, UK @ KOKO *
07/11 – Bilbao, ES @ Bilbao BBK Live *
07/12 – Aix les Bains, FR @ Musilac Festival *
07/13 – Brugge, BE @ Cactusfestival *
07/14 – Nijmegen, NL @ Valkhof Festival *
07/15 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso *
07/17 – Berne, CH @ Gurten Festival *
07/18 – London, UK @ KOKO *
07/19 – Southwold, UK @ Latitude Festival *
07/20 – Dublin, IE @ Longitude Festival *
07/21 – Glasgow, UK @ ABC *
07/27 – Newport, RI @ Newport Folk Festival
07/29 – New York, NY @ SummerStage *
07/31 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Meijer Gardens Amphitheatre *
08/01 – Cooperstown, NY @ Brewery Ommegang *
08/05 – Aarhus, DK @ Train *
08/06 – Copenhagen, DK @ Amager Bio *
08/07-09 – Gothenburg, SE @ Way Out West
08/11 – Hamburg, DE @ Fabrik *
08/12 – Berlin, DE @ Postbahnhof *
08/13 – St. Polten, AT @ Frequency Festival *
08/14 – Vienna, AT @ Vienna Arena *
08/16 – Munich, DE @ Freiheiz *
08/17 – Cologne, DE @ Gloria *
09/14 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre
09/16 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
09/18 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s
09/19 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
09/20 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheatre
09/21 – Dallas, TX @ AT&T Performing Arts Center
09/23 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre
09/27 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory
09/28 – Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory
09/30 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market
10/01 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
10/05 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre #

* = w/ Dawes
# = w/ John Prine