Convocations is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens and his fourth instrumental album. Convocations is an album about loss, a 49-track piece divided into five sonic cycles that replicate stages of mourning: Meditations, Lamentations, Revelations, Celebrations and Incantations. The album is a response and tribute to the life and death of Stevens' biological father, who passed away in September 2020, days after the release of The Ascension. Comparable to Carrie & Lowell, produced shortly after Stevens' mother’s death, Convocations comes with a more universal tone that seeks to be honest about how complicated grief can be in these difficult times with the COVID-19 pandemic, political chaos and climate change.