Bright Eyes - Kids Table - Vinyl Record EP w/Bonus!

BONUS: While supplies last, you'll get a copy of the Volusia County Examiner newspaper - a special Bright Eyes edition for this release!

Imagine sitting at the Kids Table, whether that's for prom, trying out a new SSRI, or even defacing a mural—these moments are like the highlights of the new Bright Eyes EP, Kids Table. The cover art, inspired by a game board, captures that bittersweet feeling that runs through Bright Eyes' music—floating between hope and realism. After their powerful 2024 album, Five Dice, All Threes, this EP feels like a fun partner to that record, yet stands alone as its own tiny world.

Most of these songs were born from the same recording sessions in Omaha’s ARC Studios, but they didn’t all quite fit the tight vibe of the album. So, Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis, and Nate Walcott decided to give these songs a special seat at the proverbial kids table—like sharing laughs and stories around the ironing board at big family holidays, as Oberst jokes, referencing the EP’s cover art.

Tracks like “Kids Table” and “Dyslexic Palindrome” feature Alynda Segarra from Hurray For The Riff Raff, building on the joyful collaborations from recent tours and their viral rendition of “Lua.” And while a ska song might not have been on anyone's radar this year, “1st World Blues,” co-written with Alex Orange Drink, offers a fresh take on the genre, with punchy lyrics about the decline of American society, driven by gang vocals and catchy rhythms.

The EP is sprinkled with cultural nods—mentioning Salman Rushdie, Joe Strummer, and Candace Bergen in “Victory City,” and Shakespeare, Guy Fawkes, and Mrs. Peacock from ‘Clue’ in “Shakespeare In A Nutshell.”

But the real heart of the collection is the cover of Lucinda Williams’ 1980 song “Sharp Cutting Wings (Song For A Poet).” Oberst and Williams share a special musical bond, blending melancholy with hope. After a medical emergency in 2024 due to vocal issues, that was the first song Oberst wanted to sing again—true to his love for it. “This was the song I felt like singing,” he shares. It became a last-minute addition that beautifully ties the whole EP together, offering a glimmer of light amid shadows—shadows of the fading American dream, and the shadows cast at that family table, where life’s stories unfold.