The Decemberists with the SF Symphony
October 10, 2025
Overview
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 moved from Montana to Portland, OR and met bassist Nate Query, keyboardist Jenny Conlee, guitarist Chris Funk, and drummer John Moen, the enduring indie band returned in 2024 with their first new music in six years, As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again. In many ways, this album feels like an aptly titled renewal for The Decemberists, realized by returning to familiar routes of creation with the ever-updating perspective of now. “More than any other album,” writes Stereogum, “this album feels like a career summary of everything The Decemberists are and have been, juxtaposing stripped-down folk and buoyant pop songs against lengthy monoliths.” They are produced by Tucker Martine and rendered by a band with a true sense of purpose and meaning. The Decemberists have been here before, but they’ve rarely if ever felt so directed and focused, so able to condense some bit of truth into a few compulsive verses. As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again is the first full-length release on YABB Records, the band’s own label, after a run of nearly two decades with Capitol. As they were once, here are The Decemberists again, now an independent band empowered by singing stories that sound instantly familiar and convey some bit of hard-won wisdom.Strict 8 ticket limit. Purchases or accounts over the limit are subject to cancellation. Tickets will be delivered approximately 1 week before the program: e-Tickets will be available in your account 7 days before the concert. Printed tickets will be delivered via mail.
Concert Extras
Now on View: A lobby exhibit in Davies Symphony Hall explores Gaïa—the latest project from cellist Gautier Capuçon, featuring newly commissioned works by 16 composers.
Sponsors
This concert is presented in partnership with
Edwin Outwater, conductor
Edwin Outwater
Conductor
Edwin Outwater regularly works with the world’s top orchestras, institutions, and artists to reinvent the concert experience. His ability to cross genres has led to collaborations with Metallica, Wynton Marsalis, Renée Fleming, and Yo-Yo Ma. He is music director of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and music director laureate of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.
Recent appearances include the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Seattle Symphony, and the New World Symphony, as well as the Royal Philharmonic. He also served as a producer and musical advisor for the National Symphony Orchestra’s 50th Anniversary Concert at the Kennedy Center. In December 2022, he premiered A Christmas Gaiety at the Royal Albert Hall with Peaches Christ and the BBC Concert Orchestra, and returned in 2023.
Outwater has held a long association with San Francisco Symphony. He was appointed Resident Conductor and Wattis Foundation Music Director of the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra by Michael Tilson Thomas in 2001 and they have been friends and colleagues since.
Recent appearances include the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Seattle Symphony, and the New World Symphony, as well as the Royal Philharmonic. He also served as a producer and musical advisor for the National Symphony Orchestra’s 50th Anniversary Concert at the Kennedy Center. In December 2022, he premiered A Christmas Gaiety at the Royal Albert Hall with Peaches Christ and the BBC Concert Orchestra, and returned in 2023.
Outwater has held a long association with San Francisco Symphony. He was appointed Resident Conductor and Wattis Foundation Music Director of the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra by Michael Tilson Thomas in 2001 and they have been friends and colleagues since.
The Decemberists
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Guest Artist
For over 20 years, The Decemberists have been one of the most original, daring, and thrilling American rock bands. The band was founded in the year 2000 when singer, songwriter, and guitarist Colin Meloy moved from Montana to Portland, OR, and met bassist Nate Query, keyboardist Jenny Conlee, guitarist Chris Funk, and drummer John Moen.
From their early albums on Kill Rock Stars, including Castaways and Cutouts (2002) and Her Majesty the Decemberists (2003), to the breakthrough Picaresque (2005), The Decemberists built a reputation for lush arrangements and narratives that drew from folk traditions, myth, and history. Their ambition grew with The Crane Wife (2006) and the chart-topping The Hazards of Love (2009), works that blended progressive rock scope with folk sensibility. In 2011, they reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with The King Is Dead, an album that channeled pastoral Americana while remaining unmistakably their own.
The enduring indie band returned in 2024 with their first new music in six years, As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again. In many ways, this album feels like an aptly titled renewal for The Decemberists, realized by returning to familiar routes of creation with the ever-updating perspective of now. “More than any other album,” writes Stereogum, “this album feels like a career summary of everything The Decemberists are and have been, juxtaposing stripped-down folk and buoyant pop songs against lengthy monoliths.
Tonight, The Decemberists join forces with the San Francisco Symphony for a one-night-only performance. Featuring lush symphonic arrangements of selections from their expansive catalog, this special collaboration reimagines the band’s music in a bold new light.
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