New York, NY (Top40 Charts) At 8pm ET on April 11th, Jimbo Mathus and
Andrew Bird reunite for a special night of music, set against the mountains and orange groves of Ojai, California. During a live-streamed concert, the former Squirrel Nut Zippers collaborators will play songs from their "museum-worthy" (SPIN) new album, These 13. Released earlier this month via Thirty Tigers, These 13 is the first LP that Mathus and Bird have made together in more than two decades, yet "their voices and instruments combine effortlessly, like old friends getting together for coffee" (Pitchfork). The project hit #1 on this week's Alt Country radio chart, and marks the "moving culmination of an artistic partnership that first began in 1994" (AV Club), but next weekend's show will deliver the closest experience to the way Mathus and Bird recorded These 13 over the past two years: just the two of them, performing live from opposite sides of a microphone.
Find tickets and more information here: https://sessionslive.com/andrewbird/tickets
As the latest installment of Andrew Bird's virtual Performance Now! series, the event will also include new music and fresh renditions of fan favorites from the singer, songwriter and Fargo actor. Additionally, ahead of April 11th all attendees will receive access to view the director's cut of the unreleased These 13 documentary. Directed by Tyler Manson, the film captures a candid look into Mathus and Bird's process for reconnecting and creating These 13, from co-writing every song to sharing different perspectives and bringing out the best in each other 25 years into their fortuitous friendship - watch the trailer here.
Check out the new performance of "Jack O' Diamonds" that Mathus and Bird shared today, offering another preview of both the documentary and the dynamic energy they'll be bringing to the live-stream on April 11th: https://found.ee/JackODiamondsVideo
Over a freewheeling arrangement of banjo and fiddle, "Jack O' Diamonds" tells the story of a grifting gambler, but embodies the essence of These 13: "two humble souls distilling their lifelong appreciation of early American music into one honest, uninhibited sound" (Aquarium Drunkard). Learn more in Jimbo Mathus and Andrew Bird's recent appearances on NPR Morning Edition, Office Hours with Tim Heidecker and Talkhouse.
Praise for These 13:
"Mathus and Bird remain attuned to the morality of folk music, whether urban or rural" - Pitchfork
"The kind of album you'll listen to over and over...It's a museum-worthy, American-quilt-apple-pie comfort, perfect for our times right now" - SPIN
"The vocals are spot on and so is the musicianship...but it also has the warm, first-take feel of two old friends having a fine old time" - MOJO
"Not only do their voices weave together seamlessly in a poignant manner, but Mathus' acoustic guitar and Bird's fiddle combine to create a joyous noise that could fill the whole Tennessee Valley" - AV Club
"Low-key virtuoso flexing...they couldn't look happier to link up again, and that energy is audible" - Consequence of Sound
"A little bit folk, a little bit gospel, a little bit bluesy, a little bit Hank, a little bit hill country, but most emphatically, it is all heart" - Top40-Charts.com
"Maybe they ought to do this more often" - Paste
"Mathus and Bird effectively put their own imprint on music of a vintage variety...an elegiac effort, one that reflects both shared sentiment and deep devotion" - American Songwriter
"Something truly special" - AllMusic.
