Andrew Bird + orchestra headed to several American cities

photo: Tanner Morris

Andrew Bird is set for a run of orchestral tour dates in select U.S. cities this fall, performing alongside the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Kansas City Symphony and the National Symphony Orchestra.

The final shows of the tour in Washington, DC mark Bird’s Kennedy Center debut, where alongside the National Symphony Orchestra he will perform with musician, composer and orchestrator Gabriel Kahane, who has conceived innovative orchestrations of Bird’s songs.

Additionally, Bird will co-headline three dates in August with Punch Brothers. See below for full tour dates and for more info visit www.andrewbird.net.
 
Prior to the fall orchestral performances, this May Bird will perform select songs from his score for the Patagonia-produced film Blue Heart following premiere screening events in New York and Chicago.

The film documents the battle for the largest undammed river in Europe (Albania’s Vjosa), the effort to save the endangered Balkan lynx in Macedonia, and the women of Kruščica, Bosnia and Herzegovina who are spearheading a months-long, 24/7 protest to protect their community’s only source of fresh water. All NYC ticket sales will benefit Riverkeeper, while Chicago ticket sales will benefit Prairie Rivers Network; both are organizations that work to protect natural flowing rivers locally.
 
Bird also recently scored acclaimed director Lynn Shelton’s new film Outside In, which made its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. The score received a rave review from Variety, who proclaim, “Having pop iconoclast Andrew Bird as composer was an inspired choice, as his largely acoustic score adds some playful edges to the overall texture,” whileThe Hollywood Reporter praised the “excellent score by Andrew Bird.” The film is out now on iTunes and On Demand everywhere.
 
Chicago-born, LA-based film score composer, multi-instrumentalist and lyricist, Andrew Bird picked up his first violin at the age of four and spent his formative years soaking up classical repertoire completely by ear. As a teen Bird became interested in a variety of styles including early jazz, country blues and gypsy music, synthesizing them into his unique brand of pop.

Since beginning his recording career in 1997, he has released 14 albums, his most recent being, Echolocations: River, which was recorded ankle deep in the Los Angeles River under The Hyperion Bridge. The instrumental release is the second in a series of short films and recordings documenting site-specific compositions. Performed by Bird and filmed by Tyler Manson in remote and acoustically unique environments, the first installment, Echolocations: Canyon, was released in 2015.
 
Tour dates:

May 7—New York, NY—Brooklyn Bowl (Blue Heart film screening)
May 9—Chicago, IL—Thalia Hall (Blue Heart film screening)
June 22—Kingston, NY—Ulster Performing Arts Center
August 12—Breckenridge, CO—Riverwalk Center
August 14—Steamboat Springs, CO—Strings Music Pavilion
August 17—Bonner, MT—KettleHouse Amphitheater*
August 18—Portland, OR—Oregon Zoo Amphitheater*
August 19—Seattle, WA—Woodland Park Zoo Amphitheater*
October 11—Los Angeles, CA—Walt Disney Concert Hall†
September 26—Indianapolis, IN—Hilbert Circle Theatre (w/Indianapolis Symphony) †
September 29—Kansas City, MO—Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts (with Kansas City Symphony) †
October 26—Washington, DC—Kennedy Center Concert Hall (with National Symphony Orchestra) †
October 27—Washington, DC—Kennedy Center Concert Hall (with National Symphony Orchestra) †

* Co-headline date with Punch Brothers
† Orchestral performances