Following the 2003 collection of songs for his home state, "Michigan," Stevens presents an emphatic answer to the question: Can a songwriter express the spirit of a state he's never called home? With his most enterprising project to date—the result of extensive research, travel, meditation, and countless days and nights in the studio—admirers of his previous work and first time listeners will agree that the answer is yes. On this second state tour, Sufjan weaves variegated musical styles (jazz, funk, pop) and instrumental textures (from oboe to church organ) into a tapestry of persons famous, infamous, and anonymous, and places iconic, obscure, and ghostly. Did you know there is 15-foot bronze statue of Superman in the Ohio River town of Metropolis? Where many might see only kitsch, Sufjan finds a touchstone for a tender-yet-rocking meditation on spiritual strength. Or what about the recent UFO sightings near Highland, or the infamous Chickenmobile in Decatur, where patrons endure ice cream floats and burgers that beat Big Macs hands down. No detail is wasted. Myths, memories, and incidental anecdotes are swept up with symphonic flourishes, reenacting the Great Fantastical Voyage through the Land of Lincoln, the musical road trip takes you through ghost towns, grain mills, hospital rooms, and the City of Broad Shoulders, with guest appearances by a poet, a president, and a serial murderer, to name a few. Implementing 25 instruments, played mostly by Sufjan himself, a two-handed horn section, string quartet and small choir, Illinois conjures up images of Danny Elfman conducting a Gilbert and Sullivan company, a minimalist ensemble, and the Marion Catholic Marching Band (state champions 24 years in a row!) on a windswept prairie football field. Guest musicians include vocalists Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) and Katrina Kerns, drummer James McAlister (Ester Drang) and trumpeter Craig Montoro (Volcano, I'm Still Excited!!), and many others.

1. Concerning the UFO sighting near Highland, Illinois
2. The Black Hawk War
3. Come On! Feel The Illinoise!
4. John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
5. Jacksonville
6. A Short Reprise For Mary Todd...
7. The Man Of METROPOLIS Steals Our Hearts
8. Prarie Fire That Wanders About
9. A Conjunction Of Drones...
10. The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades...
11. They Are Night Zombies!...
12. Let's Hear That String Part Again...
13. In This Temple As In The Hearts Of Man...
14. DECATUR, or, Round Of Applause For Your Step Mother!
15. One Last "Whoo-hoo!" for the Pullman!
16. Go! CHICAGO! Go! Yeah!
17. CASIMIR PULASKI DAY
18. To The Workers Of The Rock River Valley...
19. THE SEER'S TOWER
20. THE TALLEST MAN, THE BROADEST SHOULDERS...
21. Riffs And Variations On A Single...
22. Out Of EGYPT...
23. THE AVA LANCHE