One of the (many) promotional emails I get alerted me to this show and while I'm grateful for the flag, I'm reminded that I need to pay better attention to these shows at Cuyahoga Valley National Park. This is now my second show there and both have been superb (the first was the Zoe Muth show). I can't think of a better way to spend a Fall Friday evening than with The Stray Birds at Happy Days Lodge. As you can probably tell from the photos below, they're folk/bluegrass. And while I've always enjoyed this genre, few bands catch me as quickly as these guys have.
While i'll admit that I was first smitten with Maya's Gillian Welch-like vocals, the whole band stepped in with equal parts charm. I also loved their harmonies, and the intimacy that having only one microphone on stage provides. In this space, the sound was crystal clear and it just rang through you. And as you can also see from the pictures, there were a plethora of instruments kept the whole sound fresh.
They have some stunning songs from their newest self-titled album, particularly the first two tracks, Dream in Blue and 25 to Life. Unfortunately I didn't capture either of these, but My Brother's Hill is quite good.
Dad and I are listening to the CDs now, and he is REALLY digging it.....
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