The Postal Service, Death Cab for Cutie Bring 20th Anniversary ‘Give Up’ and ‘Transatlanticism’ Tour to Bridgestone Arena Tonight, April 29

If you were an indie rock fan in 2003 (or a teen in the aughts in general), no two albums perhaps better defined that year than The Postal Service‘s Give Up and Death Cab for Cutie‘s Transatlanticism, made all the more impressive by the fact that both bands were fronted by the same man: Ben Gibbard. Though not their first album (they’d been around six years and put out three other LPs by that point), Transatlanticism is undoubtedly the one that put Death Cab on the map, transforming them from a beloved indie scene staple to gigantic stars and one of rock’s most enduring acts, all the while remaining their most seminal, classic work in the two decades since. Unlike Death Cab, The Postal Service was much more of a side project at the time, born out of collaboration between Gibbard and electronic artist Dntel, better known as Jimmy Tamborello, with additional vocals from acclaimed indie singer (and current Nashvillain) Jenny Lewis (who, though didn’t appear in the group’s early promotional material, and she wasn’t heavily involved in the duo’s writing process, has always been the band’s third member).

While Death Cab have continued to release albums, tour regularly, and remain an indie rock staple, The Postal Service’s journey has been much more sporadic, playing some smaller shows in their early days before getting too busy with their respective main bands, and effectively going on hiatus just as Give Up grew to become a beloved, era-defining indie pop classic. Despite rumblings of new music and further activity over the years, they remained dormant until a 2013, 10th anniversary reunion tour, complete with a deluxe re-release of the album and a couple of brand new tracks, and with headlining spots at major fests and in arenas much larger than any spaces they’d ever played. Ten more years passed, with only a 2020 live album from that prior tour and some occasional social media teases, until the band plotted a return for their 20th anniversary last year, co-headlining with Death Cab in honor of both their classic albums.

Given the brevity of their 2013 tour, and the fact that it never extended to include more legs, we figured 2023’s return might follow a similar pattern, with Nashville once again being omitted. However, to our surprise, the Give Up and Transatlantic run has extended into 2024, and a current spring leg of North American dates brings the bands to Bridgestone Arena tonight, April 29, with buzzy Chicago indie rock outfit Slow Pulp (who we’d absolutely recommend being punctual for)! While Death Cab for Cutie have been no strangers to Nashville over the past few decades, performing at The Ryman as recently as last year, The Postal Service have only ever played Music City once, in their earliest days in 2003, at tiny former east side dive bar and venue Slow Bar (the space that would later become 3 Crow), making their return after all of these years something extremely rare and special.

You can still get tickets for most sections right here, and compared to a lot of recent arena tours, you can still snag some great seats at a pretty reasonable price. Take a walk down memory lane with the videos below, and look for some more special Postal Service coverage later today!

The Postal Service, Death Cab for Cutie, and Slow Pulp will perform tonight, April 29 at Bridgestone Arena. The show is all ages, begins at 7:30 p.m. (door at 6 p.m.), and tickets are available for $71.75-152.40.

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