Will Sheff

As the leader and sole constant member of Texas indie rock outfit Okkervil River, Will Sheff has navigated styles ranging from vivid Americana and pastoral folk to rowdy indie rock and electronic-tinged psych pop on such acclaimed LPs as The Stage Names (2007), Billboard 200 Top 40 entry I Am Very Far (2011), and In the Rainbow Rain (2018). Despite its title, he continued to circumvent the middle of the road on his first solo album, 2022′s Nothing Special, which encompassed styles like cinematic soft rock and psychedelic and Baroque pop.
Born on July 7, 1976 in New Hampshire, where he attended Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, Sheff went on to major in English at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Graduating in 1998, he made his way to Austin, Texas and formed Okkervil River — named for a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya — with high school classmate Seth Warren (drums) and Zachary Thomas (bass). The group recorded several EPs as a trio, including 2000′s Stars Too Small to Use, before crossing paths with multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Meiburg at a local bar. Meiburg soon joined the band, and Okkervil River made their first big splash at the SXSW festival in March 2000.
Producer Brian Beattie caught the band’s SXSW showcase and agreed to helm Okkervil River’s debut album, Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See. Warren relocated to California during the recording sessions and was replaced by drummer Mark Pedini; meanwhile, the band inked a record contract with Jagjaguwar, which released the completed Don't Fall in Love in January 2002. A second release, Down the River of Golden Dreams, followed one year later. Pedini had left the band by early 2003, and Travis Nelson replaced him on drums in time for a return visit to SXSW alongside lap steel guitarist Howard Draper.
Already renowned in Texas, Okkervil River rose to national prominence with the release of 2005′s Black Sheep Boy, followed several months later by the Black Sheep Boy Appendix EP. Both records featured a wide crop of musicians, and the band’s lineup continued to change as Scott Brackett joined on keyboards and Pat Pestorius replaced Zach Thomas on bass. Okkervil River’s profile was likewise expanding, as Virgin Records reissued both Black Sheep Boy discs in Europe. Despite the international buzz, several bandmates found themselves torn between Okkervil River and Shearwater, a group originally founded in 2001 as a side project for Meiburg and Sheff. As the side project evolved into a full-fledged band, Meiburg quit Okkervil River to devote his full attention to Shearwater. Brian Cassidy was then hired, and the new lineup unveiled itself with 2007′s Stage Names.
Stage Names climbed to number 62 on the Billboard 200, Okkervil River’s highest peak to that point. Three months after its release, pianist Justin Sherburn joined the band. Lineup changes continued into 2008, as Cassidy left and was replaced by the Wrens’ Charles Bissell, who toured throughout the summer before giving up his spot to guitarist Lauren Gurgiolo. With their newest lineup intact, Okkervil River returned that September with the band’s fifth album, The Stand Ins. TV performances and various tour dates followed as it climbed to number 42 in the U.S., and the band accepted an offer to serve as Roky Erickson’s backing band on True Love Cast Out All Evil. Sheff produced the critically acclaimed album, a role he reprised on Okkervil River’s 2011 release, I Am Very Far, which reached a career-high 32 on the Billboard 200 for the band. In the meantime, Sheff contributed vocals to the New Pornographers’ album Together. He went Back to the Future on 2013′s The Silver Gymnasium, an 11-track ode to his hometown of Meridian, New Hampshire. Okkervil River’s seventh full-length, it marked their debut for ATO Records.
The next few years saw Sheff endure a number of hardships, both personal and professional. By 2016, he had rebuilt both himself and the band from the ground up, culminating in the release of the deeply personal Away. Two years later, Sheff and company returned with In the Rainbow Rain, a vivid, buoyant, and stylistically diverse collection of songs that signaled a tonal shift away from the bucolic folk of their previous outing. With Okkervil River essentially operating as a solo project, if one with a generous selection of collaborators, Sheff went the solo route with his next release. Corralling psychedelic pop, Baroque pop, and classic soft rock inspirations, Nothing Special arrived on ATO in 2022. Its contributors included Benjamin Lazar Davis, Christian Lee Hutson, Cassandra Jenkins, and Fruit Bats’ Eric D. Johnson, among others. ~ Andrew Leahey & Marcy Donelson