The Epic Records soundtrack to Zach Braff’s 2004 directorial debut, Garden State, helped make indie rock a mainstream concern thanks to the presence of the Shins, Iron & Wine, Frou Frou, Thievery Corporation, Remy Zero, Cary Brothers and many others. In honor of its 20th birthday, nearly every artist from the album will assemble for the first time for a March 29, 2025 performance at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre.
Among them are Men at Work’s Colin Hay, Bonnie Somerville, Zero 7’s Sophie Barker and “very special guests” to be announced. The Garden State soundtrack won the 2005 Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media and has sold more than 1.3 million copies in the United States, according to Luminate. The Shins’ “New Slang” is an oft-quoted plot point in the story and is by far the band’s biggest song on streaming services, with nearly 384 million spins on Spotify alone.
“The most punk-rock fucking thing I could do in my life was something like ‘New Slang,’” Shins frontman James Mercer told SPIN in 2012. “That was just, like, flipping off the whole city [of Albuquerque, N.M., where the band formed]. It’s definitely a moment in my life, that sort of angst and confusion about what my future was going to be. The Shins weren’t anything when I wrote that song. There wasn’t any hope for anything like a music career. It’s that end-of-your-20s thing. Before you knew it, my whole life was upside down: I got signed, I quit my job, I moved out of town, the big relationship I’d had for five years ended. All of a sudden my whole life was up in smoke.”
Tickets go on sale tomorrow (Oct. 18), with proceeds benefitting the Midnight Misson’s work to provide resources to the homeless in Los Angeles. Braff was introduced to the charity through Brothers, who also came up with the idea to stage the 20th anniversary event and donate the proceeds.
Braff himself has frequently volunteered at Midnight Mission and rallied friends nearly every Saturday during the COVID-19 pandemic to make 200 meals for the organization. “The experience inspired me to want to get more involved with the Midnight Mission and to support the work they are doing every single day to help those in need, living on the streets of Los Angeles,” he says.
“Ending homelessness requires a collective effort, and we are profoundly grateful to be collaborating with these exceptional individuals to raise vital funds and awareness for those living on our streets, who are hungry and without a place to call home,” adds Midnight Mission president/CEO David Prentice.
