Before Omaha indie boy wonder Conor Oberst releases Outer South, his second album with the Mystic Valley Band (out May 5), he will drop a behind-the-scenes film (out April 15), which follows him and his band over the past 18 months. The best part? It's totally free!

Superchunk members Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance's North Carolina label Merge Records is celebrating 20 years of kicking out the jams with a five-day bash in their home state -- and they've invited some of their best artists to join the party, including Spoon, M. Ward, and Conor Oberst.

Today it was announced that Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst will release Outer South, his second album with the Mystic Valley Band, on May 5 via Merge Records. No songs have been released yet, but the band performed one track, "Nikorette," on Late Night with Conan O'Brien late last year -- and you can watch the footage below.

Bright Eyes principal Conor Oberst may have just released his self-titled solo debut, but he's already got new material in the pipeline.

If you weren't able to attend last weekend's Austin City Limits music festival, not to worry: SPIN.com was there, snapping photos of every great band we could find. Check out our shots of Beck, Foo Fighters, CSS, and many more artists below and on the next two pages.

Conor Oberst (a.k.a. Bright Eyes) and the Mystic Valley Band kicked off a 17-song set at Philadelphia's Trocadero last night (Aug. 11) with "Sausalito," and from first strum to last gasp, they kept the at-capacity crowd rooted in a bygone age.