Monsters Of Folk Debut at #15 on Billboard Charts

monsters of folk, yim yames, jim jamesMonsters of Folk’s self-titled debut, out now on Shangri-La Music, has hit #15 on the Top 200 chart, selling nearly 35,000 albums in its first week of release. The Top 20 album is the first recorded collaborative effort of the group’s acclaimed members – Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis,My Morning Jacket’s Jim James and singer/songwriter M.Ward.

Monsters of Folk began as folklore of sorts, when James, Oberst, Ward and Mogis did their first run of shows together in 2004, affectionately known amongst friends and crew as the “Monsters of Folk Tour.” While entertaining audiences coast to coast, the foursome vowed to make their way to a studio at some point after the tour’s completion. Instead, the songsmiths went on to individually release some of rock music’s most exciting and essential albums of the last five years – Bright Eyes’ I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning & Cassadaga; My Morning Jacket’s Z & Evil Urges; M. Ward’s Post War andHold Time. Never ones to forget their promise, when downtime presented itself, they convened in the studio multiple times over two years, with Mogisat the helm of their first recorded effort. The result is being heralded as one of the year’s most impressive debut albums.

Praise for Monsters of Folk….

”…Monsters of Folk yoke together a quartet of folk-minded rockers at the top of their game…[and] create something that’s often greater than the sum of its parts.” (4 stars) – Rolling Stone

“…a sonic touchstone for every band who features more than one guy who thinks he can sing…the harmonies are groundbreaking. Goosebump territory. The amalgam of their voices mixed with the musical breathing room creates an intimacy not heard since Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. It’s a stunning record – cohesive and consistent and ambitious for how much ground it covers.” – Esquire

“Monsters of Folk live up to their hype and then some.” – Billboard

Monsters of Folk will be hitting the road together for the first time in four years this October. For these dates, the band is partnering with Air Traffic Control, a resource for musicians’ philanthropic and social change work, to donate monies raised from ticket sales. The band will be donating $1 from every ticket sold on the tour to local non-profits.

http://monstersoffolk.com

The tour dates are:
10/13: Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum
10/14: Portland, OR Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
10/15: Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
10/17: Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
10/18: Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre
10/20: San Diego, CA @ Spreckels Theatre
10/21: Phoenix, AZ @ Orpheum Theater
10/22: Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl
10/28: Omaha, NE @ Holland Center
10/29: Minneapolis, MN @ Orpheum Theatre
10/30: Chicago, IL @ Auditorium Theatre
10/31: Louisville, KY @ Louisville Palace Theatre
11/02: Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
11/03: Boston, MA @ The Orpheum
11/06: New York, NY @ United Palace
11/08: New York, NY @ Beacon Theater
11/09: Philadelphia, PA @ Academy of Music
11/12: Stockholm, SE @ Philadelphia Church
11/14: Berlin, DE @ Huxleys
11/15: Copenhagen, DK @ Vega
11/17: London, UK @ Troxy
11/18: Paris, FR @ Elysee Montmartre
11/19: Koln, DE @ E-Werk
11/21: The Hague, NL @ Crossing Border
11/22: Antwerp, BE @ Crossing Border