Saddle Creek Records is an American record label based in Omaha, Nebraska. Started as a college class project on entrepreneurship, the label was founded by Mike Mogis and Justin Oberst in 1993 (as Lumberjack Records). Mogis soon turned over his role in the company to Robb Nansel. The label is named after Saddle Creek Road, a major street which cuts through midtown Omaha and also the beginnings of a scene whose members included Justin's brother Conor Oberst (at the time a solo artist and now from Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Desaparecidos, and Monsters of Folk), Tim Kasher (then of Slowdown Virginia, currently of Cursive and The Good Life), and others. Collectively, they were known unofficially as the "Creekers". Saddle Creek first appeared in print on a show flyer, offering to "Spend an evening with Saddle Creek" (later to be the title of the label's DVD.) Saddle Creek became an incorporated entity as a result of a class project on entrepreneurship. Distribution is handled by Redeye Distribution. SCR continues to be the flagship label of a style of music called "The Omaha Sound", characterized by a slight country twang. It is increasingly inaccurate, though to reference it as such with the rise of more electronic sounds like those favored by The Faint and Broken Spindles. The eclectic sounds of Saddle Creek's disparate member bands is somewhat explained by their history; a number of the original members of the label attended grade school together. A "sister label" of sorts, to Saddle Creek is Team Love which was begun by Conor Oberst in 2004.

History

The label opened its arms to the first bands on its roster not based in Omaha in 2001 with releases by Now It's Overhead and Sorry About Dresden. Other artists not from Nebraska followed including Los Angeles' Rilo Kiley, Eric Bachmann (formerly the leader of Archers of Loaf from Chapel Hill, North Carolina and Crooked Fingers from North Carolina), Georgie James (Washington D.C.), Two Gallants (San Francisco), and most recently Tokyo Police Club (Toronto). In 2005, Spend an Evening with Saddle Creek, a documentary detailing the first ten years of the record label's history, was released. The DVD features extensive interviews with the Saddle Creek bands, archival footage, and rare live performances. On June 8, 2007, the label opened their own music venue named Slowdown (after the group Slowdown Virginia) which is located in downtown Omaha. The label's name was inspired partially by the A-side single of Polecat's 1994 -ismist Recordings release 2500 Ft of Our Love, "Saddle Creek."

Bands

Current

Former

Discography

All releases marked either LBJ (Lumberjack) or SCE (Saddle Creek Europe)

Compilations