BIIRD Records Debut Album, Rejoins Ed Sheeran's US Tour With 11-Member Irish Trad Lineup
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 16
BIIRD Records Debut Album, Rejoins Ed Sheeran's US Tour With 11-Member Irish Trad Lineup
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 16
Decoy Studios in Melton, England, is hosting BIIRD’s debut album sessions as the 11-member all-female Irish traditional group prepares its first record after two years of touring without a release.
Ed Sheeran will bring BIIRD back onto his US tour later this year, extending support that began after an impromptu session with the band in a County Wexford pub during last year’s Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann.
10,000 people saw BIIRD’s first Trafalgar Square performance on St Patrick’s Day 2024, when some members had only met hours earlier; since then the group has sold out UK and Ireland venues and played stadiums in Australia and New Zealand.
Lisa Canny spent about a decade shaping the project to modernize women’s representation in trad and folk, pairing a contemporary visual style with music rooted in Irish tradition.
BIIRD says that mix of visibility, touring and new music could outlast the band itself by encouraging more young women and girls to enter traditional music.
Can BIIRD's debut album possibly live up to the hype they built by touring the world with Ed Sheeran first?
Is the 'Spice Girls of trad' a genuine folk revival or a commercial rebranding of Irish musical heritage?