Bird Log I. - Fall 2024

Live at Drift Art House 10/19/24

Howdy -

Welcome to November. We’ve passed through Halloween and into the dark half of the year. Here at Bird Friend’s North Atlantic headquarters, the trees are bare, the sky is dark, and a bitter wind blows in from the ocean. Sounds of Silence is on the record player, the radiator is on, and I find myself craving a hearty stew. But that doesn’t mean we’ve put down our work for the season - on the contrary, we’re busier than ever. Here’s a little recap of the last month or so:

First off, some business. We’ve overhauled our web presence. What you’re reading is (hopefully) the first of many newsletters that’ll keep you up to date on what we’re doing, where we’re playing, and what we’ve been listening to. You can subscribe to this thing by entering your email address in the little box at the bottom of the page; we will do our very best to keep you entertained and informed on a regular basis! The newsletter/blog is meant to be the centerpiece of our new, better-designed website - which is still, it seems, an important tool to keep folks engaged with the decade-long art project that is Bird Friend.

But we didn’t stop there - we also revamped our YouTube page, where you can watch music videos, our two documentaries, and a selection of past performances that we’ve gathered under the title Bird Friend Vault Series. Bird Friend is an ever-changing beast, and it’s kind of cool to look back at some of the different configurations the band has operated under over our long history. The Vault Series will continue to be updated from our huge selection of live videos, which date back to 2013.

For you fans of our more contemporary material, we have back-to-back release news. First off, our latest studio single “Salamander” is now streaming everywhere. If you’re a fan of our gentle, acoustic side, this one’s for you: a five minute harmony workout inspired by folk revival heroes like Fred Neil and The Dubliners. “Salamander” is also another love letter to our hometown of Manchester, New Hampshire. Locals of the Queen City should, as ever, keep their ear out for references to local landmarks.

If you’re more of a fan of our intense, electrified stuff like “Dance With The Devil,” or 2016’s Cibola, we’re excited to announce that a new major release is on its way. On November 27th we’ll be releasing our first live EP, Live at The Press Room. The recordings on this upcoming EP were captured with a full band last summer at Portsmouth’s fabled Press Room - a venue that is near and dear to us as longtime residents of the New Hampshire seacoast. These recordings from July 2023 capture us on a particularly hot night on our home turf, and feature both new songs and re-imagined classics. We are very excited to share this stuff with you.

Releases 11/27/24

We’ve been playing a lot around the Seacoast region lately. A few weeks ago, I did a solo show at Porstmouth’s Drift Art House, supporting a little festival put together for Hurricane Helene relief. This was a really special little gig for Bird Friend. The music of Appalachia - and, specifically, the North Carolina mountains - is foundational to us, and it was an honor to help raise money for the folks that were affected by flooding out there. Peppered throughout the set were staples of Appalachian music like “House Carpenter” and “Wish I Was A Mole In The Ground,” songs that we’ve been singing as a family for many years. If you were unable to come to the show, you can still donate to the organizations supported during the fest: Beloved Asheville and R.O.A.R. If you did come to the show and were interested in some of the Appalachian music history I shared, you can listen to the playlist we put together on that topic.

If you missed us at Drift (or at our more recent Press Room show), you can still catch us on the Seacoast this fall. On Wednesday, November 20th, we’ll be performing at the WSCA Button Factory Stage with Mount Pom and Jordan Holtz. You can get tickets for that event here.

Although late autumn in New England can be a dark, wet bummer, it can also be a time of unexpected, stark beauty. Some of our folk favorites come into rotation this time of year. Anne Briggs’ version of “Willie O’ Winsbury,” Bert Jansch’s “The Gardener,” and The Incredible String Band’s “Nightfall” - British as they all are - play like the perfect soundtrack to a late Yankee fall. So does the weird DIY of Cleaners From Venus, especially 1984’s “Drowning Butterflies.” In the wake of the passing of Phil Lesh, we’ve also given Live/Dead a pretty permanent place on the record player the last few weeks.

That’s all for now. Subscribe for updates, or just stay tuned - we hope to see you out there. If you are in the United States, please remember to go vote tomorrow.

Love,

Geoff

Bird Friend