The Decemberists Join the San Francisco Symphony in Concert October 10 at Davies Symphony Hall

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Known for their sweeping narratives and meticulously crafted songs, The Decemberists join forces with conductor Edwin Outwater and the San Francisco Symphony for a one-night-only performance on October 10. Featuring lush symphonic arrangements of selections from their expansive catalog, this special collaboration reimagines the band’s music in a bold new light.

For over 20 years, The Decemberists have been one of the most original, daring, and thrilling American rock bands. Founded in the year 2000 when singer, songwriter, and guitarist Colin Meloy met bassist Nate Query, keyboardist Jenny Conlee, and guitarist Chris Funk, The Decemberists’ distinctive brand of hyperliterate folk-rock set them apart from the start with the release of their debut EP 5 Songs in 2001. After making their full-length debut with Castaways and Cutouts in 2002, the band signed with Kill Rock Stars for the release of the acclaimed albums Her Majesty the Decemberists (2003) and Picaresque (2005). The 2004 EP The Tain—an 18-minute single-track epic—made the band’s grand creative ambitions clear.

Around this time the band’s permanent lineup fell into place with the arrival of drummer John Moen, and they made the unexpected leap to Capitol Records for their first major label album in 2006. Three years later, The Hazards of Love—a full-length concept album based on Meloy’s idea for a stage musical—was a Top 20 hit. In 2011, they topped themselves yet again with their first #1 album, The King Is Dead, which featured the GRAMMY-nominated song “Down by the Water.” After their 2015 album What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World, which included the #1 AAA radio hit “Make You Better,” The Decemberists changed up their sound and explored new approaches to making music on their eighth studio album I’ll Be Your Girl (2018).

Now the enduring indie band is back with their first new music in six years, “Burial Ground.” “‘Burial Ground’ is in that time-honored pop song tradition, a paean to hanging out in graveyards,” says songwriter Colin Meloy. “The melody hook came to me in a dream and I hummed it into my phone on waking. Most dream-songs are bad; this was the exception.”

Tickets for The Decemberists with the San Francisco Symphony go on sale on Saturday, July 19. San Francisco Symphony subscribers and donors have the option to purchase tickets before the general public beginning July 1.

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