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 street that cuts through the east side of midtown Omaha, and the beginnings of a scene whose members included Conor Oberst (then a solo artist, currently of 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 the Alternative Distribution Alliance, which is under the Warner Music Group umbrella.
Saddle Creek Records continues to be the flagship label of a style of music called "The Omaha Sound", characterized by a slight country twang. This is increasingly inaccurate, though, with the rise of more electronic sounds such as 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, started by Conor Oberst in 2004.
The label opened arms to their first bands not based in Omaha in 2001 with releases by Now It's Overhead and Sorry About Dresden. Other non-Nebraskan artists followed, including Los Angeles's Rilo Kiley, Eric Bachmann (formerly leader of Archers of Loaf 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), located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska.
LBJ-001 Conor Oberst - Water CS
LBJ-002 Polecat - Dilly Dally CS
LBJ-003 Slowdown Virginia - Dead Space CD
LBJ-004 Smashmouth - Some of You Will Be Hermits CS
LBJ-005 Polecat/Sunbrain split 7"
LBJ-006 Commander Venus - Do You Feel at Home? CD
LBJ-007 We'd Rather Be Flying - The Solution For Thinning Your Hair CD
LBJ-008 Norman Bailer - Sine Sierra CS
LBJ-009 Commander Venus/Lux-O-Values/Norman Bailer/Weld - Music Me All Over 7"
LBJ-010 Cursive - The Disruption 7"
LBJ-011 Lullaby for the Working Class - Consolation 7"
LBJ-012 Lullaby for the Working Class - Blanket Warm LP
LBJ-013 Commander Venus/Drip split 7"
LBJ-014 The Wrens/Park Ave. Split 7"
LBJ-015 Lullaby for the Working Class - In Honor of my Stumbling 7"
LBJ-016 Commander Venus - The Uneventful Vacation LP
LBJ-017 Lullaby for the Working Class - I Never Even Asked for Light LP
LBJ-018 Cursive - The Icebreaker 7"
LBJ-019 Bright Eyes - A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995–1997
LBJ-020 Saddle Creek Records, A Sampler
LBJ-021 The Faint - Media CD
LBJ-022 Cursive - The Storms of Early Summer: Semantics of Song CD
LBJ-023 Bright Eyes - Letting Off the Happiness CD/LP
LBJ-024 Lullaby for the Working Class - The Ebb & Flow, the Come & Go, the To & Fro 7"
LBJ-025 The Faint/Ex-Action Figures split 7"
LBJ-026 Gabardine - Gabardine CD
LBJ-027 Lullaby for the Working Class - Song LP
LBJ-028 The Faint - Blank-Wave Arcade CD/LP
LBJ-029 Spoon - The Agony of Laffitte CD5
LBJ-030 Bright Eyes - Every Day and Every Night EP CD/12"
LBJ-031 Cursive - Domestica CD/LP
LBJ-032 Bright Eyes - Fevers and Mirrors CD/LP
LBJ-033 The Faint - Blank-Wave Arcade Remixes 12"
LBJ-034 Bright Eyes/Son, Ambulance - Oh Holy Fools: The Music of Son, Ambulance & Bright Eyes CD/LP
LBJ-035 Cursive - Burst and Bloom CD/LP
LBJ-036 Son, Ambulance - Euphemystic CD/LP
LBJ-037 The Faint - Danse Macabre CD/LP
LBJ-038 Now It's Overhead - Now It's Overhead CD/LP
LBJ-039 Sorry About Dresden - The Convenience of Indecision CD
LBJ-040 Desaparecidos - The Happiest Place on Earth CD5
LBJ-041 Azure Ray - November EP CD
LBJ-042 Desaparecidos - Read Music/Speak Spanish CD/LP
LBJ-043 The Good Life - Black Out CD/LP
LJB-044 Mayday - Old Blood CD
LBJ-045 Bright Eyes - There Is No Beginning To The Story EP CD/12"
LBJ-046 Bright Eyes - Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground CD/2xLP
LBJ-047 Rilo Kiley - The Execution of All Things CD/LP
LBJ-048 Bright Eyes - A Christmas Album CD
LBJ-049 Cursive - Art Is Hard CD
LBJ-050 Various Artists - Saddle Creek 50 2xCD/LP
LBJ-051 Cursive - The Ugly Organ CD/LP
LBJ-052 Sorry About Dresden - Let It Rest CD
LBJ-053 Bright Eyes - Vinyl Box Set 5xLP + 2x12" + Box Set
LBJ-054 Azure Ray - Hold On Love CD/LP
LBJ-055 Azure Ray - The Drinks We Drank Last Night CD
SCE-056 Rilo Kiley - The Execution of All Things CD
LBJ-057 Azure Ray - New Resolution CD
LBJ-058 Now It's Overhead - Fall Back Open CD
LBJ-059 Cursive - The Recluse CD
SCE-060 Bright Eyes/Neva Dinova - One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels CD/LP
LBJ-061 Broken Spindles - fulfilled/complete CD/LP
LBJ-062 The Good Life - Lovers Need Lawyers CD/10"
LBJ-063 Beep Beep - Business Casual CD/LP
LBJ-064 The Good Life - Album of the Year CD/LP
LBJ-065 Now It's Overhead - Wait in a Line CD
LBJ-066 The Faint - I Disappear CD
LBJ-067 The Faint - Wet From Birth CD/LP
LBJ-068 Bright Eyes - Lua CD
LBJ-069 Bright Eyes - Take It Easy (Love Nothing) CD
LBJ-070 Cursive - The Difference Between Houses and Homes CD/LP
LBJ-071 Son, Ambulance - Key CD
LBJ-072 Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning CD/LP
LBJ-073 Bright Eyes - Digital Ash in a Digital Urn CD/LP
LBJ-074 Maria Taylor - 11:11 CD
LBJ-075 Orenda Fink - Invisible Ones CD
LBJ-076 Mayday - Bushido Karaoke CD
LBJ-077 Bright Eyes - When the President Talks to God iTunes exclusive
SCE-079 Bright Eyes - First Day of My Life CD/7"
LBJ-080 Criteria - En Garde (reissue) CD
LBJ-081 Criteria - When We Break CD/LP
LBJ-082 Broken Spindles - inside/absent CD/LP
LBJ-083 The Faint - Desperate Guys CD
LBJ-084 Bright Eyes - Easy/Lucky/Free CD/2x7"
LBJ-085 Criteria - Prevent the World CD
LBJ-086 Orenda Fink - Bloodline iTunes single
LBJ-087 Various Artists - Lagniappe
SCE-088 Bright Eyes - Motion Sickness: Live Recordings CD
LBJ-089 Saddle Up and Love It - Saddle Creek/Lovitt Records Hot Topic Compilation CD
LBJ-090 Two Gallants - Las Cruces Jail 7"
LBJ-091 Two Gallants - What the Toll Tells CD/LP
SCE-092 Two Gallants - Steady Rollin' iTunes Exclusive
LBJ-093 Cursive - Dorothy at Forty CD/7"
LBJ-094 Cursive - Happy Hollow CD/LP
LBJ-095 Eric Bachmann - To The Races CD
LBJ-096 Now It's Overhead - Dark Light Daybreak (Live in the Studio) iTunes Exclusive
LBJ-097 Now It's Overhead - Dark Light Daybreak CD
LBJ-098 Ladyfinger - Heavy Hands CD
LBJ-099 Bright Eyes - Noise Floor: Rarities 1998-2005 CD, 2*LP
LBJ-101 Bright Eyes - Four Winds CD/12"
LBJ-102 Maria Taylor - Lynn Teeter Flower CD
LBJ-103 Bright Eyes - Cassadaga CD/2xLP
SCE-104 Cursive - Big Bang digital single
LBJ-105 Two Gallants - The Scenery of Farewell CD/12"
LBJ-106 The Good Life - Heartbroke 7"/Digital Single
LBJ-107 Art in Manila - Set the Woods on Fire CD
LBJ-108 The Good Life- Help Wanted Nights CD/LP
LBJ-109 Two Gallants - Two Gallants CD/LP
LBJ-110 Georgie James - Places CD/LP
SCE-111 Two Gallants - Despite What You've Been Told Digital Single
SCE-112 Georgie James - Need Your Needs Digital Single
SCE-113 Richard Swift - Dressed Up for the Letdown CD
LBJ-114 Cursive - Rhapsody Original EP Digital
LBJ-115 Cursive - Bad Sects 12"
LBJ-116 Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell CD/LP
LBJ-117 Neva Dinova - You May Already Be Dreaming CD/LP
LBJ-118 Georgie James - Cake Parade 7"/Digital
LBJ-119 Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell (Remixes) Digital
LBJ-120 Son, Ambulance - Someone Else's Deja Vu CD/LP
LBJ-121 Tokyo Police Club - Tessellate 7"
SCE-122 Two Gallants - Miss Meri Digital Single
LBJ-123 Beep Beep - Enchanted Islands CD
LBJ-124 Neva Dinova - Neva Dinova (2009 Reissue) Digital
LBJ-125 O+S - O+S CD/LP
LBJ-126 Land of Talk - Some Are Lakes CD/LP
LBJ-127 Sebastien Grainger - American Names 7"/Digital EP
LBJ-128 Sebastien Grainger - Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains CD/LP
LBJ-129 Ladyfinger (ne) - Dusk CD
LBJ-130 Tokyo Police Club - FNMTV Live (Rhapsody Exclusive)
LBJ-131 Tokyo Police Club - Live Session iTunes Exclusive EP
LBJ-132 Cursive - Mama, I'm Swollen CD/LP
LBJ-133 Cursive/Ladyfinger (ne) - Record Store Day Picture 10"
LBJ-134 Sebastien Grainger - Who Do We Care For Digital Single
LBJ-135 Tokyo Police Club - Baskervilles Remix Digital Single
SCE-136 Dag för Dag - Shooting from the Shadows CD EP
LBJ-137 UUVVWWZ - UUVVWWZ CD
LBJ-138 The Rural Alberta Advantage - Hometowns CD/LP
LBJ-139 Orenda Fink - Ask The Night CD/LP
LBJ-140 Old Canes - Feral Harmonic CD/LP
LBJ-141 O+S - We Do What We Want to Digital
LBJ-142 Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - Summer of Fear CD/LP/Digital
LBJ-143 Land of Talk - Fun & Laughter EP CD/Digital
LBJ-144 The Rural Alberta Advantage - Drain the Blood 7"/Digital
LBJ-145 Bright Eyes / Neva Dinova - One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels CD/LP/Digital (2010 Reissue)
LBJ-146 The Mynabirds - What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood CD/LP/Digital
LBJ-148 Cursive - Discovering America Digital Single
LBJ-149 Land of Talk - Cloak and Cipher CD/LP/Digital
LBJ-150 Land of Talk - Swift Coin 7"/Digital
LBJ-151 Tim Kasher - Cold Love 7"/Digital
LBJ-152 Tim Kasher - The Game of Monogamy CD/LP/Digital
LBJ-153 Adam Haworth Stephens - We Live on Cliffs CD/LP/Digital
LBJ-154 Azure Ray - Don't Leave My Mind Digital Single
LBJ-155 Tim Kasher - Delirium Tantrums 7" (online-store exclusive)
LBJ-156 The Mynabirds - All I Want is Truth (for Christmas) 7"/Digital
LBJ-157 The Rural Alberta Advantage - Departing CD/LP/Digital
LBJ-158 Bright Eyes - The People's Key CD/LP/Digital
LBJ-159 Bright Eyes - Singularity Digital
LBJ-160 Azure Ray (feat. Sparklehorse) - Silverlake Digital
Saddle Creek Records, A Sampler (1998)
Saddle Creek 50 (2002)
Lagniappe: A Saddle Creek Benefit for Hurricane Katrina (2005)
