Watch Waxahatchee Join Bright Eyes For “Contrast And Compare” In Kansas City

Katie Crutchfield and Conor Oberst have a few things in common. They both come from DIY indie worlds and make rootsy, open-hearted music. They're both prolific collaborators. They both use band names for situations that are really more or less just solo projects. (Bright Eyes is technically a trio, but it started out as Conor Oberst and whoever else, and that's how some of us still think of it.) In 2022, Waxahatchee mastermind Crutchfield joined Oberst on a re-recorded version of his 1998 song "Contrast And Compare." And on Friday night, the two of them got onstage to sing it in Kansas City.

These days, Bright Eyes are back on tour after canceling a bunch of shows last year. Some people wondered about the decision to return to the road, but it seems to be working out so far. On Friday night, Bright Eyes came to the Uptown Theater, in Katie Crutchfield's adopted hometown of Kansas City. During the show, Katie Crutchfield came to the stage, and she and Oberst sang a really nice version of "Contrast And Compare" together. Shout out to the guy who was like "yeeeeeeaaaah" at the beginning of the video. You probably yelled that too loud, my friend.

Speaking of solo projects that are really just one person: Hurray For The Riff Raff opened that leg of Bright Eyes shows, and bandleader Alynda Segarra also joined Oberst on a couple of songs on Friday, as they did at many of the shows they played together. Segarra sang "Clairaudients (Kill Or Be Killed)" and "Lua" with Bright Eyes, and then they covered Blondie's "Dreaming" together during the encore. Below, watch the Bright Eyes/Waxahatchee duet.