Big Thief brings big surprises to Project Pabst

Following the sudden, virtually-unexplained departure of bassist Max Oleartchik on July 11, it’s easy to assume that Big Thief’s biggest news is weeks old. But the now-legendary indie group had even more surprises in store. At Project Pabst 2024 in Portland – the group’s first appearance in Oleartchik’s absence – Big Thief played a set that included 10 unreleased songs.

So what’s the new lineup? According to Reddit and various Instagram posts, Big Thief’s new bassist’s name is Justin Felton, but there’s not much else known about him or the new percussionist. And as for the set, besides “Incomprehensible” (which Adrienne Lenker played solo at Newport) and four classic Big Thief numbers (“Words,” “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You,” “Not,” “Masterpiece”), every song in the entire set was a live debut. Though Big Thief definitely still has some adjusting to do, it’s exciting to see what’s coming.

Check out the band’s Project Pabst’s setlist and watch some videos of the performance below.