Will Robinson Sheff (born July 7, 1976) is the frontman for the

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

-based indie band

Okkervil River Okkervil River is an American rock band led by singer-songwriter Will Sheff. Formed in Austin, Texas, in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya set on the river Okkervil in Saint Petersburg. They bega ...

(1998–present). Originally from

Meriden, New Hampshire Meriden is an unincorporated community in the eastern part of the town of Plainfield in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the location of Kimball Union Academy, a private boarding school. New Hampshire Route 120 passes throu ...

, he is also a founding member and co-songwriter (along with former Okkervil bandmate

Jonathan Meiburg Jonathan Albert Meiburg is an American musician and writer, best known as the lead singer and songwriter for Shearwater (band), Shearwater. Early life and education Meiburg was born in Baltimore, Maryland on March 1, 1976. His father, Stan Meib ...

) for

Shearwater Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae. They have a global marine distribution, but are most common in temperate and cold waters, and are pelagic outside the breeding season. Description These tube ...

(2001–2009), another Austin band. Sheff writes and performs many songs as a solo artist while juggling his commitments to Okkervil River and Shearwater, and has released one album as a solo artist. As well as writing and singing songs, he plays guitar, piano, banjo, and harmonica. Sheff attended

Kimball Union Academy Kimball Union Academy is a private boarding school located in New Hampshire. Founded in 1813, it is the 22nd oldest boarding school in the United States. It is located in the upper Connecticut River Valley village of Meriden, New Hampshire. Th ...

, where his creativity was encouraged by a teacher named Simon Harrold, and was an English major at

Macalester College Macalester College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate institution with an enrollment of 2,142 students in the fall of 2023. The college ha ...

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

. Sheff has collaborated with The Mendoza Line on the duet "Aspect of an Old Maid" and played the piano on the Palaxy Tracks album Cedarland. With Okkervil River, he produced

Roky Erickson Roger Kynard "Roky" Erickson (July 15, 1947 – May 31, 2019) was an American musician and singer-songwriter. Called an "outsider genius," he was a founding member and the leader of the 13th Floor Elevators and a pioneer of the psychedelic r ...

's 2010 album ''

True Love Cast Out All Evil ''True Love Cast Out All Evil'' is a 2010 album by Roky Erickson, his first album of new material in 14 years. Produced by Okkervil River's Will Sheff, the album also features the members of Okkervil River on most songs as Erickson's backing band ...

'' and provided backing musicianship. He has produced an upcoming album by the Brooklyn-based band Bird of Youth along with Phil Palazzolo. Sheff contributed a large amount of original music writing to the articles section of

Audiogalaxy Audiogalaxy was an Internet music service with three incarnations. From 1998 to 2002, it was a file sharing system that indexed MP3 files. From mid-2002 to mid-2010, it was a promotional website for the Rhapsody music subscription service. Final ...

before the service was shut down. He also contributed background vocals to

The New Pornographers The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie rock band, formed in 1997 in Vancouver. Presented as a musical collective and supergroup of singer-songwriters and musicians from multiple projects, the band currently consists of Carl Newman (vocals, ...

' 2010 album, ''Together''. In fall of 2022, he released his first full-length solo album on

ATO Records ATO Records (or According to Our Records) is an American independent record label based in New York City. The label was established in 2000 by Dave Matthews and manager Coran Capshaw. ATO's roster includes My Morning Jacket, Brittany Howard, ...

, "Nothing Special."

Discography

Albums

*''Nothing Special'' (

, 2022)

Singles

*''Will Sheff Covers Charles Bissell, Charles Bissell Covers Will Sheff'' (

Jagjaguwar Jagjaguwar is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana. History In 1996, in Charlottesville, Virginia, University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public resear ...

, 2008)

References

External links

Okkervil River's official siteShearwater's official site
Musicians from Texas Living people 1976 births American indie rock musicians Macalester College alumni People from Plainfield, New Hampshire Okkervil River members Shearwater (band) members Musicians from New Hampshire {{US-rock-musician-stub