Andrew Bird is an endlessly creative singer-songwriter, violinist, and whistler whose work has ranged stylistically from old-time jazz and folk to the extraordinary Echolocations: River (2017), which AllMusic describes as a “unique experience, fusing ambient improvisations with chamber music and environmental soundscapes.” AllMusicsaid his album The Swimming Hour (2001) was “like taking a walking tour through 20th-century musical history.”

An NPR Music critic said this after the release of Are You Serious in 2016: “In concert Andrew Bird attracts intense adulation—screaming fans, mass sing-alongs, the whole bit—but his records have grown subtler over time. Always a thoughtful songwriter, prone to impeccably chosen words and pristine arrangements, Bird has still found a way to mature and open up in a long career that spans more than a dozen studio albums.”

Raleigh born and bred, Tift Merritt is an NCMA favorite and a frequent collaborator with Andrew Bird. She has recorded seven albums of original songs, earned a Grammy nomination, and is currently restoring the old Gables Motel while raising her beautiful daughter, Jean.