Conor Oberst Sings for M. Ward, Debuts New Tunes at Coachella

He was Bright Eyes, now he's just Conor Oberst. And now he not only fronts the Mystic Valley Band -- he's also a member. Case in point: for the band's Coachella debut on Day One of the California festival, Oberst let others sing their originals, too, including drummer Jason Boesel's 'Eagle on a Pole.' Oberst didn't only appear humble within the confines of his own group -- he also dedicated 'The Beach' to "my brother M. Ward," who played right before Oberst. He later said, "We've only got a couple more songs and then to the best of my knowledge, something really special is going to happen after that." Oberst was referring to Leonard Cohen's headlining set.

But special things happened during his own set, too, as he focused almost exclusively on material from the Mystic Valley Band's upcoming CD, 'Outer South,' including the CD and set opener, 'Slowly,' and 'Air Mattress' -- a song that unintentionally nailed it for thousands of Coachella-ers who'll be sleeping on air mattresses in the campgrounds and nearby rental houses tonight. Conor Oberst had the bright idea that he could play all unknown material for a large festival crowd and still get them into it. Lucky for him, he was right.