Bright Eyes, Obama, M Ward, Zooey Deschanel (She & Him)

DOWNLOAD: She & Him – Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? (MP3)

She & Him is a story of musical serendipity: Two artists, each renowned in their own creative fields, meet and recognize a certain shared nostalgia. The result is destined to be one of the musical highlights of the year.

Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward first met to record a version of Richard and Linda Thompson’s “When I Get To The Border” for a movie soundtrack. Immediately struck by one another’s talents and finding an instant rapport, Zooey let slip that she wrote her own songs which she recorded alone at home on her computer. Somewhat shy about anyone hearing these musical morsels she eventually sent the demos to Matt who was instantly impressed. They soon reconvened at his Portland studio to begin work.

She and Him currently have two scheduled shows coming up. One at Noise Pop in San Francisco, and at least one during SXSW in Austin the Merge Records showcase). The She & Him record, Volume One, is out on Merge March 18th.

M Ward also has his own show coming up, with Conor….

Bright Eyes and M. Ward will headline a free rally concert at the Saddle Creek Records-owned Slowdown on Feb. 7 to raise awareness for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

To recruit voters for the Nebraska Democratic caucus on Feb. 9, Obama’s camp set up shop yesterday (Feb. 5) at the 625-capacity club to give away free concert tickets to those who will either register to vote or sign a pledge card to support Obama. A maximum of two tickets will be given to people who are 18 and older, according to the Slowdown’s Web site. [Billboard]

Stay tuned for another She & Him tour announcement, and click here for a list of other musicians currently endorsing candidates.