ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY
OTHER ISSUES MMVV: 2025
Okkervil River
OKKERVIL RIVER is the project led by Will Sheff, one of the most distinctive voices in American indie rock. With sharp lyrics, thoughtful arrangements, and a straightforward emotional narrative, his music draws on influences like Leonard Cohen and The National, yet maintains a distinct, timeless, and open identity capable of connecting with audiences beyond the English-speaking world.
In a way, the entire career of Texan Will Sheff, the absolute soul of OKKERVIL RIVER, and the fact that he’s still here after nearly thirty years can be summed up in the song “Unless It’s Kicks” from their album The Stage Names (Jagjaguwar, 2007). In this song, Sheff justifies all the struggles of being an independent musician in exchange for that moment when, after seven days of euphoria, “that heavenly song strikes through my mind and hums through my blood.” He does this by writing one of those songs you return to from time to time, no matter how many years pass or how much the world changes, because its emotion and honesty remain intact. Just for this song, the whole career is worth it. But fortunately, throughout the ten albums released, Sheff and OKKERVIL RIVER have repeated it several more times.
Aleix Ibars
Journalist