Birds of Play members migrate to venues, including Icicle Creek

Just last week, the band of four recorded their fourth studio album, following “Anthrophony” (2019), “Murmurations Vol. 1” (2021) and “Murmurations Vol. 2” (2022). It is still untitled and is tentatively planned for release this June.

In a phone interview, also last week, Paul said that the recording process was to first perform shows over six nights in Colorado, then go into rehearsals for four days at a house, which led to a six-day recording session in the Sherbino Theatre, which was converted to a studio. They celebrated on the sixth night with a live show for 150 people in the theatre in Ridgeway, Colorado.

The live sound captured in the theatre has “more energy and dynamism,” said Paul. He said the band plays together like friends while “hoping to create with the magic of the room being more alive and dynamic, rather than perfect and sterile.”

The band members all play multiple instruments and collaborate for songwriting. Birds of Play is made up of Alex Paul, Eric Shedd, Anneke Dean and Jack Tolan. At the Icicle concert, they will be joined by The Corban Welter Band from Leavenworth.

During their fourth year as a band, Birds of Play’s tour venues have grown in scale.

In Leavenworth, previously, Birds of Play performed at Yodelin Broth Co. and at house shows; now they are at the Icicle. Paul said Snowy Owl Theater in Icicle Creek will be perfect as a “bird theatre.”

Their next tour stop is Sandpoint, Idaho, where they have played at Matchwood Brewing, and now will be in the larger Hartwood Center.

Still, Paul said, “Fundamentally, backing up, we do the same tour loops to be in relationships with such awesome humans,” and, “It feels like going back to visit and that’s a foundational motivational factor to why we do this, it feels special.”

The band’s audiences are as eclectic as their range. Paul said there’s “integrity and gentleness to our music that appeals to teens and early 20s, to mid-20s to mid-80s. “We are an amalgamation of various information and different pursuits,” said Paul, “That’s awesome. That’s part of our fanbase and appeal. It speaks to the sincerity of what we are doing.”

When one band member writes a song, it is recorded on a phone and uploaded to Google Drive for everyone to get familiar with and “learn the bones,” since the band members live in different parts of Colorado, said Paul. Then, during rehearsals, it’s a collaborative process to decide who plays what on the song, to add and take away parts and blend in harmonies.

“We have a lot of trust and care in the process,” said Paul, “and also a deep desire to put the songs over our little egos and make them the best they can be.”

On stage, there is an abundance of instrument swapping, including on guitars, mandolin, bass, violin and vocals. Birds of Play performs live with a core tenant of storytelling.

“We love offering context of where songs come from and bringing them into our world with humor and heart,” said Paul.

One story is about a three-song suite on “Murmurations, Vol. 1,” which Paul said is a love story that transpires between two of Colorado’s rivers: the San Miguel River and Dolores River. These rivers start on top of a pass and head in opposite directions before reuniting 81 miles later to flow into the Colorado River. One song is a conversation with a Douglas Fir tree.

“It’s our attempt to do justice to the majesty of the land as we have it,” said Paul, “and how magical and inspirational it is in our songwriting process.”