Birds of Play are a folk band with a lot of musical skill within its four person makeup. Alex Paul (guitar, mandolin, vocals, songwriting) started playing guitar at the age of 13. Eric Shedd (bass, mandolin, guitar) grew up in Northern Idaho, where he attended the University of Idaho School of Music as a percussion and guitar major. Anneke Dean (Violin, Vocals) started playing the violin at the age of 8 where she grew up in Denver, Colorado. From 6th-12th grade, she studied at Denver School of the Arts under the tutelage of the Moscow String Quartet’s first violinist, Eugenia Alikhanova. She holds a bachelor’s degree in violin performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts. Jack Tolan (guitar, mandolin, vocals) attended Colorado College where he minored in music, took private guitar lessons, and played in several bands.
And if that perhaps sets the scene for that rarely seen thing – the mighty 3 mandolin front-row line-up – then we’re sorry, but we have to disappoint you. If, on the other hand, you’re thinking modern cerebral folk a la Darlingside then you are band on the money.
‘Sandhill Cranes‘ is just such a modern cerebral folk song with multi-layers of music, and it comes from the band’s new album ‘Murmurations Vol 2′, which will be released on February 25th. It’s a delight.
