Come On Feel The "Illinoise" Musical is now open on Broadway for a limited 16-week run at the St. James Theatre. Tickets for all dates can be found here.

The Sufjan Stevens dance musical Illinoise will become a surprise last-minute addition to the current Broadway season. Currently running Off-Broadway at Park Avenue Armory, the work will transfer to Broadway's St. James Theatre beginning April 24 and will open the same night. The strictly limited engagement will continue through August 10.

I'm embarking on a master's thesis exploring Seven Swans and it's resonance with contemplative theology. Before I begin, I'm looking for more information on Sufjan's writing/recording process, the influence of Daniel Smith, inspiration behind the lyrics, etc.. Anything other interviews that reveal Sufjan's views on faith would also be very helpful! Can you point me in the right direction?

Thanks!

Here's a hodge-podge of things that might be interesting to you:

2004 interview with The Guardian doesn't have much but it does have this quote specific to Seven Swans: 'I can see patterns in the songs about relationships with family, lovers and friends, or a divine being, and sometimes songs confuse the two,' Stevens says. 'There's an attitude of reverence and awe and love, in terms of very corporeal love with God, as well as with people.'

2006 interview with Busted Halo talks about feelings surrounding being public about his faith

Since you mentioned Daniel Smith, I imagine you're aware of Danielson: A Family Movie? Sufjan does make some appearances in there.

Sufjan was a guest on a podcast called Don't Look Back where artists talk about songs that changed how they think about music, and that conversation touched on faith in songwriting. Our blog has some quotes from it but I don't know how easy it is to get ahold of the episode--if you have iTunes, you can try the source link on that page.

True Myth: A Conversation with Sufjan Stevens 2015 interview in Pitchfork has some more recent comments from him about his faith

This 2012 interview for PEN America is a long listen but I recall that Sufjan talks a lot about inspiration and things of that nature in here, though I don't remember if Seven Swans comes up specifically.

In 2017, Sufjan wrote an opinion piece for The Washington Post: Stop repeating the heresy of declaring the United States a ‘Christian nation’

Hope that helps!

As was the case with what he did for “Carousel” and “West Side Story,” both of which I thought choreographically superb, Peck articulates yearning so very well. He knows how to create pictures and then explode them, to encapsulate what happens to our bodies when we feel tense or afraid or untrusting of our partners or friends. But he also loves manifesting joy and thus he leads Stevens naturally introverted work firmly by the hand in that direction. I imagine Stevens would be surprised by how fun his own self could be.

On Saturday, the show, which had a quiet staging last year at Bard College in New York, will officially open in Chicago, complete with a first exposure to press reviews, before heading to the Park Avenue Armory in New York and, the team hopes, other high-profile stages beyond that. In the tradition of music-musicals that honor a singular artist, it is built around “Illinois,” the album, part of Stevens’s ambitious 50 states project, which he abandoned after two records.

JAVELIN is out today. Thank you for listening. I love you.

This album is dedicated to the light of my life, my beloved partner and best friend Evans Richardson, who passed away in April. He was an absolute gem of a person, full of life, love, laughter, curiosity, integrity, and joy. He was one of those rare and beautiful ones you find only once in a lifetime—precious, impeccable, and absolutely exceptional in every way.

I know relationships can be very difficult sometimes, but it’s always worth it to put in the hard work and care for the ones you love, especially the beautiful ones, who are few and far between. If you happen to find that kind of love, hold it close, hold it tight, savor it, tend to it, and give it everything you’ve got, especially in times of trouble. Be kind, be strong, be patient, be forgiving, be vigorous, be wise, and be yourself. Live every day as if it is your last, with fullness and grace, with reverence and love, with gratitude and joy. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Thank you. I love you.  XOS

Sufjan's latest masterpiece "Javelin" is out today. Here is the YouTube video of the complete album with lyric video visuals to accompany it. He's done it again, y'all.

AKR published the full Javelin booklet! Enjoy!

Sufjan revealed he developed Guillain-Barre Syndrome a couple weeks back. We debated on whether to repost it here, because presumably those who still follow this blog have already seen this post. That said, I think it's important to post what he's going through, particularly because he's chosen to share it with us (and several charming photos of his urine LOL). Keep our lighthouse in the darkness in your prayers as he recovers.

We love you so much Sufjan. Thank you for all you've brought into the world. You're in our thoughts, always.

Hi Friends. Quick update on my life. I'm very excited about having new music to share, but I just wanted to let you know that one of the reasons why I haven't been able to participate in the press and promotion leading up to the release of Javelin is bc I am in the hospital. Last month I woke up one morning and couldn't walk. My hands, arms and legs were numb and tingling and I had no strength, no feeling, no mobility. My brother drove me to the ER and after a series of tests—MRIs, EMGs, cat scans, X-rays, spinal taps (!), echo-cardiograms, etc.—the neurologists diagnosed me with an auto immune disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Luckily there's treatment for this — they administer immuno-hemoglobin infusions for five days and pray that the disease doesn't spread to the lungs, heart and brain. Very scary, but it worked. I spent about two weeks in Med/Surg, stuck in a bed, while my doctors did all the things to keep me alive and stabilize my condition. I owe them my life.

On September 8, I was transferred to acute rehab, where I am now undergoing intensive physical therapy/occupational therapy, strength building etc. to get my body back in shape and to learn to walk again. It's a slow process, but they say I will "recover," it just takes a lot of time, patience, and hard work. Most people who have GBS learn to walk again on their own within a year, so I am hopeful. I'm only in my second week of rehab but it is going really well and I am working really hard to get back on my feet. I'm committed to getting better, I'm in good spirits, and I'm surrounded by a really great team. I want to be well!

I'll keep you posted as I progress. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. And a huge shout out to all the incredible caretakers of the world working night and day to help us heal. They are living saints.

Be well, be joyful, stay sane, stay safe. I love you.

yours truly from a wheelchair XOXOXO Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan published 10 of the essays included in the vinyl of the Javelin album to An Other Magazine in preparation for the album release. They're gorgeous and heart breaking. Here they are in photo form, via Asthmatic Kitty Records to An Other Magazine.

I don’t know if this is the right thing to say because English is not my first language, but some people fly too close to the sun. When I think about Sufjan Stevens or Ryuichi, Terry Riley, Frank Ocean, I feel like their music is great, but you love them because you can really hear their suffering, their agony, their pain. They have been given a role to filter not just their own feelings through music, but other people’s suffering and pain, too. I always feel so sad for them. Like, why them? Why do they have to bear that role of witnessing so much hardship and the difficulty of just being alive in this world and then translate it through music? I have endless respect and support for this type of artist. I went back to Japan for the first time since the pandemic and there were changes in my parents’ lives. I had to help my father change his living situation. It’s never easy to prepare them for the next chapter, the next chapter, the next chapter, and then you die. Yet I’m so grateful for that and to return to Japan and still feel like it’s my home. Sufjan and I share the same birthday, maybe one day apart [Stevens’ is July 1, Makino’s is July 2], so we’ve spent two birthdays together by his place in upstate New York. He made it so special. I was quite shy, and maybe being the same sign is why he’s just as shy as me, but I really appreciate his way of carrying himself. He wears super colorful clothes, he’s super different, and I love the way he’s not shy of being shy, like he just kind of stares at you and then doesn’t say anything. Everything about him hits close to my heart. He was obsessed with the fireworks then, almost like a child, and even though we didn’t talk much, I felt so much tenderness, intimacy, and warmth from him and his partner. Now I think about Sufjan and his surroundings quite often. His music has been helping me quite a bit: Carrie & Lowell, Call Me By Your Name, his recent piano work that sounds massive. I listen to him in the middle of nowhere in Japan, trying to clean up my parents’ shit. I’m amazed by his responsibility when dealing with very difficult stuff. He’s the type of person who flies quite close to the sun. I hope he’s doing alright, I hope he’s happy, and I hope he’s gonna manage. Because some people just have a very difficult role to feel things so intensely, and that’s not easy. It’s a big ask—even of someone phenomenal like him. - Kazu Makino (Blonde Redhead) on Sufjan

Here’s the new single from my album Javelin, “A Running Start.”

More info here.

THANK YOU. I love you. Peace to you.

New solo album coming October 6th!!!

At times, Javelin has the feel of a big team album production — but it is decidedly not: almost every sound here is the result of Sufjan writing and recording at home, building by himself what sometimes feels like a testament to ‘70s Los Angeles studio opulence.

Happy Birthday to Sufjan Stevens, born July 1st 1975!

It's been a little while since we've gotten a Sufjan tour but here's one of the more recent times he's made a live concert appearance, as a guest at a Rufus Wainwright show in December 2018.

Reflections is out now, including this video featuring visualizations by Stephen Halker.

“I’m constantly thinking about bodies moving through space when I’m writing for ballet – that is what has informed this music, first and foremost,” says Sufjan Stevens on Reflections, his latest collaboration with choreographer Justin Peck. Originally commissioned and performed by Houston Ballet in 2019, Reflections was written for two pianos and eleven dancers.

I’m releasing an album of duo-piano pieces I wrote for Houston Ballet a few years ago. This is the first track, “Ekstasis,” performed by pianists Timo Andres and Conor Hanick. The original ballet, Reflections, was choreographed by long-time collaborator (and good friend) Justin Peck, who is also currently creating a music-theater-dance piece based on my Illinois album. Reflections will be released May 19 on AKR. More info here. THANK YOU! Peace to you. https://sufjanstevens.lnk.to/Reflections

Two pianos are better than one.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater, one of the companies that commissioned “Illinois,” will present the show in January 2024.