Shearwater was formed by two bandmembers of Austin, TX’s Okkervil River. Okkervil’s singer and guitarist, Will Sheff, and back-up vocalist and accordion/keyboard player, Jonathan Meiburg formed Shearwater so they could write softer, more folk-influenced music. Band members include Jonathan Meiburg, Will Sheff, Thor Harris, Howard Draper, and Kim Burke.

To date, Shearwater has released five full-length albums, ‘The Dissolving Room’, ‘Everybody Makes Mistakes’, ‘Winged Life’, ‘Palo Santo’ and ‘Rook’ as well as an EP entitled Thieves and a split album with Okkervil River entitled Sham Wedding/Hoax Funeral.

Beginning at some point in 2005, Will Sheff lessened his role in the band. Jonathan Meiburg wrote the entirety of Palo Santo. As a biologist, Jonathan has a particular perspective. The songs of Palo Santo were partly written at the Galápagos Islands in the footsteps of Charles Darwin. And he evolves with beautiful ‘pictures’ of nature at Rook.