Even if you don’t know Ben Gibbard’s name, it’s almost impossible that you don’t recognize his voice. As the lead singer for Death Cab for Cutie and the Postal Service, his gentle, earnest, melancholic tenor has provided the emotional backdrop to countless movies, TV shows, make out sessions, car commercials, and love song mix tapes (to say nothing of all the break up mix tapes).

After 15 years as the everyman singer for Death Cab, he’s finally setting out on his own—at least for one album: Former Lives. "Over the years, I've accrued a number of songs that I've always been very fond of but didn't fit tonally, lyrically, musically in with the palette of songs that were in front of us for a Death Cab for Cutie record," Gibbard said during an interview on NPR's All Things Considered. Some of the songs, like “You Remind Me of Home,” have leaked out over the years and snuck into emo kids’ playlists; others are new for fans. 

Ben Gibbard plays the Crystal Ballroom on Sunday, November 18. Damien Jurado opens.

This contest is now closed. You can buy tickets here.