Indie-rockers Bright Eyes [ tickets ] are set to take to the road in February for a club tour that will also feature Jim James of My Morning Jacket [ tickets ] and M. Ward [ tickets ].

The critically lauded Omaha, NE-based Bright Eyes, led by 23-year-old frontman/guitarist Conor Oberst, opens the outing in its hometown on Feb. 19, and will focus its efforts on the Northeast.

The group's fourth album, a two-CD set with the unwieldy title "Lifted or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground," hit stores last year.

Oberst, a native of Nebraska, began performing professionally at the age of 13, and his various bands have released seven albums. His first group was Commander Venus, which issued two albums. In late 2001, he issued the first full-length album by Desaparecidos [ tickets ], a harder-edged rock group.

Members of Commander Venus started Saddle Creek Records, Bright Eyes' label, in the mid-'90s. Its roster now features acts including Cursive and The Faint.

In related news, Desaparecidos won't complete the writing and recording of a new album in time for its planned release in the spring of 2004. The group, in a posting on the Saddle Creek website, cites "conflicting schedules" for the delay.

Desaparecidos have also backed out of their planned appearances on the Plea for Peace tour, which is still scheduled to feature Cursive and Mike Park.