Concert review/photos: The Stray Birds @ World Café Live 3/29
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
Crowding around a singular microphone to sing harmonies.
The raw folk and Americana of Lancaster-based The Stray Birds took flight before a packed World Café Live Upstairs crowd this past Saturday. Mixing guitar, banjo, fiddle, upright bass and the voices of all three members — Maya de Vitry, Oliver Craven, and Charles Muench — they are a glorious bridge between past and present musical tastes. Crowding around a singular microphone to sing harmonies, The Stray Birds evoke an almost forgotten simplicity and joy found in voice that is stunning to drink in. Frequent switching of lead vocals show a breadth of creativity while their appreciation for the audience before them is evident in their joy and humble thanks.
From their beautiful cover of Townes Van Zandt’s “Loretta” to their brilliant banjo-inflected “Dream In Blue” as well as solo fiddle playing to boot, they are captivating live. Add to this the wonderful opener Caitlin Canty, who collaborated with de Vitry and Craven during her set while also coming on for one of The Stray Birds’ numbers, and this was a fine way to spend a Saturday evening, let alone any evening.
More reviews and photos by Chris Sikich:
