The National’s Matt Berninger Confirms Joy Williams Collab, Hints At “Box Of Rain” Cover

The National’s Matt Berninger Confirms Joy Williams Collab, Hints At “Box Of Rain” Cover

The National are still touring behind last year’s Trouble Will Find Me, but frontman Matt Berninger is staying busy in between gigs by promoting his brother’s upcoming rock documentary/sibling story Mistaken For Strangers and lending his voice to a few side-projects. In a new interview with Billboard, Berninger talked up his upcoming collaborations with the Walkmen’s Walter Martin and the Civil Wars’ Joy Williams (who posted the above photo on Instagram a few weeks ago). And when asked if the National would be recording a song for the Dessners’ Grateful Dead tribute, he had this to say:

There’s a huge debate over which one to do. They keep talking about “Box of Rain” for me. Something because of the register of the vocals. I’m staying out of it. It’s [bassist Scott Devendorf and drummer Bryan Devendorf] that are probably the biggest Dead fans. There’s constant emails going back and forth about what to do. They kind of kicked me out of the whole Dead project because I kinda don’t know what I’m talking about. I’ve never followed the Dead much but those guys have become … they’re borderline experts on the Dead. It’s a fun thing. Meeting Bob Weir and playing with him in San Francisco was surreal and awesome. I can’t wait until that thing finally comes together.

We also know the War On Drugs will be covering “Touch Of Grey” for the comp. And that is the 10th best Grateful Dead song.

Mistaken For Strangers hits theaters, on demand, and iTunes 3/28. Here’s the trailer:

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