Sufjan Stevens Invites You To…
Come On Feel The Illinoise!

Sufjan Stevens
Illinois
File Under: Alt Rock
CD: ASK 14 (M)
2XLP: ASK 14 (2G)

Featured Artists
Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) – backing vocals
Katrina Kerns – backing vocals
Craig Montoro – horns
James Mcalister (Esther Drang) – drums
Daniel & Elin Smith (The Danielson Famile) – backing vocals
Matt Morgan – backing vocals

Overview
Since the 2003 release of his third album, Michigan, and 2004’s Seven Swans, Sufjan Stevens has been recognized as one of the most talented songwriter/performers in independent music. Illinois, the follow-up to Michigan in his “50 States” project, again demonstrates his ability to realize a musical vision through his moving songs, musicianship (he plays 25 instruments on the album), production and arrangements. While some musical and literary influences are felt and heard, Stevens’ total involvement in every phase of the project results in a thoroughly unique result. On his second meditation on an American state, a 22-track anthematic tone poem for Illinois, Stevens weaves variegated musical styles and instrumental textures into a tapestry of persons famous, infamous and anonymous, and places iconic, obscure, and abandoned. Love, loss, faith, the unique character of place, encounters with spiritual strength in unexpected places, incomprehensible horror, and celebratory odes to the rise and fall of human works are among the themes Stevens visits in his ode to the Prairie State.

Press Quotes
“A declaration of a serious – and seriously idiosyncratic – talent.” – The New York Times
“There is such a profusion of charm, intelligence and hook-laden pop to make Stevens one of the few important singer songwriters in America today. The chimerical albums are rife with nervous optimism, boundless imagination and endearing private obsessions.” – Trouser Press
“His influences are so vast and far-ranging that it would be impossible to compare Sufjan Stevens to other artists… this man is creating his own audio world with his own unique sound and vision.” – Babysue

Selling Points
- Follows the critically acclaimed Michigan (2003) as the second entry in the “50 States” project
- Previous two CDs were among Pitchforkmedia’s Top 50 Albums of the Year for 2003/2004
- Stevens has been written up in Spin, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, and dozens more
- Extensive tours will follow release
- Full press and radio service by Fanatic Promotion; digital promotion by Toolshed Inc.
- Ads will run in Pitchforkmedia, Venus, Arthur, DIW, Crutch, Skyscraper, Resonance, Filter, Magnet, Paste and Copper Press
- KEY MARKETS: New York (Hometown). Also: Detroit, Chicago, Champaign-Urbana, Grand Rapids, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Denver, Boulder and Boston

Track Listing
Concerning the UFO Sighting… - The Black Hawk War - Come on! Feel the Illinoise! - John Wayne Gacy, Jr. - Jacksonville - A Short Reprise for Mary Todd… - Decatur - One Last ‘Woo-hoo’ for the Pullman - Chicago - Casimir Pulaski Day - To the Workers of the Rockford River Valley Region… - The Man of Metropolis… - Prairie Fire That Wanders About - A Conjunction of Drones… - The Predatory Wasp… - They Are Night Zombies!! They are Neighbors!! - Let’s hear That String Part Again… In This Temple… - The Seer’s Tower - The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders - Riffs and Variations on a Single Note…- Out of Egypt… - Avalanche (LP only)

Release Date: July 5th, 2005