Sylvan Esso has announced WITH, a 60-minute live concert film that captures a magical, lightning in a bottle moment in the group’s history and celebrates one of the Durham, NC duo’s core tenets: community. Sylvan Esso’s Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn recruited a dream team 10-piece ensemble - musicians that perform with Bon Iver, Wye Oak, Mountain Man, Hiss Golden Messenger, Mandolin Orange, Hand Habits, and Mr. Twin Sister - and set out on the limited engagement fall 2019 WITH tour that found their songs reaching expansive new realms. This pivotal moment included two sold-out shows at New York’s Beacon Theatre, Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, and Los Angeles’ Disney Hall. The WITH tour culminated with two sold-out hometown shows at Durham Performing Arts Center, captured in this live concert film.

WITH will debut on April 23 at 9PM ET via YouTube Premiere.

Fans are encouraged to host their own private watch parties with friends for the premiere. More details can be found at sylvanesso.com.
Of the project, the band explains, “We knew that in order to put on the best show we possibly could in a few short weeks we had to truly lean on and trust the friends we had asked to become part of our band. The end result - as with so many communal efforts - was much greater than the sum of its parts, in ways we could have never dreamed of. The world has completely shifted in a few months - the idea of togetherness rings in a different way. It was such a special moment that now feels like a signpost of how things were and how they could be again.”

Orchestrated with an army of synths, saxophone, two drummers and intricate three-part vocals provided by Amelia with her Mountain Man bandmates, WITH showcases several of Sylvan Esso’s most beloved songs from their studio albums, Sylvan Esso and What Now: “Die Young,” “Coffee,” “Radio,” “Rewind.” The WITH band transformed these tracks into a more interactive and ever changing experience that opened up the idea of what a Sylvan Esso song could be. The film also captures the intense two weeks of preparation and rehearsing that preceded the tour, a home movie of sorts for this newly united creative family.

Later today Amelia and Nick will perform songs featured in the film on Levi’s 501 Instagram Live initiative in order to raise funds for their touring crew. The live performance begins at 5:01pm PT/8:01pm ET and is available to watch at instagram.com/levis

Sylvan Esso’s WITH

Filmed November 2019 at Durham Performing Arts Center

Filmed/Directed by Josh Sliffe

Featuring:

Meg Duffy (Hand Habits): Guitar

Dev Gupta (Mr. Twin Sister): Synths, Keys, Electronics

Matt McCaughan (Bon Iver, Hiss Golden Messenger): Drums, Electronics

Amelia Meath (Sylvan Esso): Lead Vocals

Nick Sanborn (Sylvan Esso): Bass, Synths, Keys, Electronics, Vocals

Molly Sarlé (Mountain Man): Vocals

Alexandra Sauser-Monnig (Mountain Man, Daughter of Swords): Vocals

Adam Schatz (Landlady): Woodwinds, Electronics, Vocals

Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak): Bass, Synths, Keys, Vocals

Joe Westerlund (Mandolin Orange): Drums, Percussion