Artist: Bowerbirds

A superb Saturday for all tastes: ► Nineties alt-rock innovators Swervedriver swing through L.A. for its first show since last summer, this one at the Key Club; Adam Franklin and crew have some new songs, including a made-for-a-movie track called "Good Times Are Hard to Follow," sung in the movie by Robert Caryle ("Trainspotting"). Heaven, which includes Franklin's bandmates from his other project Adam Franklin & Bolts of Melody, opens, along with locals the Bixby Knolls . ► Rodrigo y Gabriela , with a new album "Area 52," are touring with [...]

Rachel Bowman Bowerbirds North Carolina's Bowerbirds rolled through town earlier this week, performing a set at the Doug Fir on Wednesday. Photographer Rachel Bowman was on hand to capture these shots of the performance, plus openers Dry the River as well. Take a look see! Lots of pics after the jump. Bowerbirds will be back in the area this summer for Pickathon , which happens August 3-5 and is amazing. [ [...]

Il terzo disco dei Bowerbirds è ancora più che in passato un autentico affare di coppia. Philip Moore e Beth Tacular , rispettivamente responsabili di voce/chitarra, voce/fisarmonica, ma in realtà ambedue polistrumentisti, nel periodo che distanzia questo nuovo The Clearing dal predecessore Upper Air , hanno vissuto una dolorosa separazione di un anno, un'improvvisa malattia di Beth, la difficile sopravvivenza della loro band sullo sfondo dei loro personali dissapori e infine una gloriosa riconciliazione, culminata con la decisione di metter su casa nei boschi del North Carolina. Il disco, a detta loro, [...]

Bowerbirds - "In the Yard" Listening to a Bowerbirds record is like meandering through a forest: generally tranquil, and peppered by shadows - but sometimes, somehow, the light manages to fall through the trees. Composed of couple Beth Tacular (accordion, vocals) and Phil Moore (guitar, vocals), in addition to Mark Paulson (violin, vocals), the band has a propensity for writing sad, homespun songs about love, nature, the human existence, and, mostly recently, gratitude. Formed in Raleigh, North Carolina, their sound is steeped in the Appalachian folk tradition - [...]

• Bowerbirds - In the Yard

On this edition of Audiography, we feature reviews of the latest releases by Guided by Voices frontman Robert Pollard, rock opera legend Meat Loaf, LA hip hop collective Odd Future, the R&B hip hop of THEESatisfaction, and the Material Girl herself, Madonna. We also chat with Bowerbirds ' Phil Moore about his band's new album, The Clearing , creating a bigger, broader sound, recording at Bon Iver's studio, and the UK's love of all things folkie. Featured Music: 01. Robert Pollard - "Picnic Drums" (excerpt), "Aspirin Moon" [...]

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Live This Month: April 2012 — an audio guide through SF concerts this month (Podcast #276) In Live This Month , we sample some of the great local and out-of-town bands performing in the coming month in the San Francisco Bay Area. In curating this podcast, we got the nagging feeling that April is a little slow on the local album release front. We're not sure why that is - Festival fatigue? Buildup for a big summer? - but it's likely only a momentary blip. A number of [...]

• Live This Month: April 2012 — an audio... » April_2012_LTM.mp3

It's one louder.

And you start with the heavy breathing // Follow Owl and Bear on Facebook and Twitter for contests, MP3s, and links that don't make it onto the blog.

• Owl and Bear - The Owl and Bear Podcast vol. 165

It's been a little bit since we've posted any sort of concert updates on this here blog. It's also been a couple of years since we first met Phil Moore and Beth Tacular of Bowerbirds, when they crooned a stellar set opening up for Megafaun at Beachland Tavern. For those that have followed along [...]

Bowerbirds ::: photo provided by Dead Oceans As many of you know, once upon a time I grew up in the Commonwealth of Virginia. That's right, it's a Commonwealth and not a state (How many "Commonwealths" are there in America? Pop quiz!) This may surprise many Americans on the West Coast but the state [...]

Bowerbirds add a new stretch of U.S. shows in June.

Indie rock's favorite avian folkies Bowerbirds have scheduled a batch of summer tour dates in support of their third LP, The Clearing . Currently touring the U.S. with Dry the River and Mandolin Orange before heading overseas later this month, the five-some will launch this new leg in Baltimore on June 7th. In addition, Bowerbirds will play Oregon's Pickathon Music Festival in August. Find the full schedule below. The Clearing is out now. If you haven't yet, be sure to check out our recent interview with frontman [...]

Photo by D.L. Anderson In one mystical whirl on Saturday night Bowerbirds and guests Dry The River wooed an audience by creating an ambience much like that of an intimate acoustic show. Every person in the room, from performer to volunteer, stepped into a circle of music and became kindred spirits with one another. That sounds like a bunch of hocus pocus fluff, right? Maybe so, but the energy and talent that took the stage at the Cedar Cultural Center was infectious and left a mark on every attendee. [...]

Pond at Buffalo Billiards during SXSW / photo by Jim Bennett Another busy schedule of shows this week. On Monday, Hot Snakes are at Neumos with The Bangs and Spider Fever , and Kelly Hogan is at the Triple Door with Puddles Pity Party . On Tuesday, there's a free performance by The Lumineers at Sonic Boom Records in Ballard, Rodrigo y Gabriela are at Paramount, Kathleen Edwards is at Neumos, and Bowerbirds are at Crocodile with Dry The River [...]

North Carolina's Bowerbirds , Phil Moore, Beth Tacular, and Mark Paulson, have announced new June dates for their tour in support of their recently released album, The Clearing . Take a look at their current tour schedule including their new summer dates below. Read more »

Our San Diego picks for the week* // Follow Owl and Bear on Facebook and Twitter for contests, MP3s, and links that don't make it onto the blog.

I'm not a rock star, but I imagine one of the hardest task for a band is to follow up an opening act that just put on an absolutely blazing show. On the upside, everyone at the venue is already in a great mood, on the flip side, expectations become exceedingly high. This was the circumstance that veteran folk act Bowerbirds faced on a chilly Tuesday night at the Garrison. The five piece band was in town to promote recently released album The Clearing . It was the North Carolina band's third record and first [...]

"Tuck the Darkness In" by Bowerbirds from Secretly Jag on Vimeo . Simply put, Bowerbirds' The Clearing is their best album yet - and one of my folk favorites of this young year. You can find my full review over on the A.V. Club . The album's out now on Dead Oceans and the band plays the Troubadour on Saturday, April 7. Bowerbirds - "Tuck the Darkness In" : mp3 Want more music? Get great new albums in [...]

• Bowerbirds - Tuck the Darkness In

Watch 'Overcome With Light' below. Catch 'em on their North American tour. Click here to view the embedded video. MP3: Bowerbirds - In The Yard