Illinois

Illinois is the fifth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens. It features songs referencing places, events, and persons related to the U.S. state of Illinois. Illinois is Stevens' second based on a U.S. state—part of a planned series of fifty that began with the 2003 album Michigan and that Stevens has since acknowledged was a joke. It was adapted into a musical, Illinoise, in 2023 and, after playing smaller venues, opened at the St. James Theatre on Broadway and was nominated for four Tony Awards in 2024, winning for Best Choreography. Stevens recorded and produced the album at multiple venues in New York City using low-fidelity studio equipment and a variety of instruments between late 2004 and early 2005. The artwork and lyrics explore the history, culture, art, and geography of the state—Stevens developed them after analyzing criminal, literary, and historical documents, and weaved them with personal stories. Following its release, Stevens promoted Illinois with a world tour. The album received widespread critical acclaim from music critics for its well-written lyrics and complex orchestrations. From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinoi...) under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)