American indie-rockers Bright Eyes were formed in 1994, they are best known for their singles “Lua” and “Take It Easy (Love Nothing)”.

The band were formed by Conor Oberst (singer-songwriter and guitarist), Mike Mogis (multi-instrumentalist and producer) and Nate Walcott. The trio operate as the core of the band, calling on a range of collaborators for different projects.

Their first official album was released in 1998: A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995-1997 was just that. Some found the album's lo-tech approach challenging listening and the album received mixed reviews. They went for a more polished sound with Fevers and Mirrors (2000), but it was their fourth album which brought the band more attention. Lifted or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground saw the band being hailed as a big new act (despite the length of time they had been recording), and went on to sell over a quarter of a million copies.

They achieved success in the charts when the singles "Lua" and "Take It Easy (Love Nothing)" took the top two positions in the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart in 2004, and in 2005 the band set off on a two-part world tour to promote their new albums, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn. The first half of the tour promoted the folk-influenced first album, and the latter half featured the more electronic second album. Both records made it into the Top 20 of the Billboard album charts. The tour was captured on Motion Sickness, released later in the year.

In 2007 the band played a week-long series of concerts in New York, with a different guest each night; amongst their guests were Lou Reed, Norah Jones and Steve Earle.

The band have been outspoken in their political stance against George W. Bush, and were invited on to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to perform "When the President Talks to God". They also toured with Bruce Springsteen and R.E.M. on the MoveOn.org Vote for Change tour.