by sara welden
photo by kane wayne
From Columbus, Ohio to Nashville, Tennessee, Bird and Byron are a dazzling duo who are making their mark on the music scene one eurythmic tune at a time. Cranking out some of the most soulful and high-spirited music out there today, Blake (Bird) and Nick (Byron) are certainly turning heads. We had the pleasure of chatting with the guys before they hit the road for their first ever tour with The Criticals which will no doubt be an exceptional show, so be sure to grab your tickets and catch them out on the road!
Can you walk us through how Bird and Byron was formed?
Blake: “We grew up in the same hometown and have known each other since we were six, playing on the same little league teams and things like that. We both reconnected after college and Nick’s mom pitched me the idea to start making music with him.”
Nick: “We recorded a cover together that day of a Wings song. We felt a good connection right away and took off running from there.”
Did either of you grow up in musical families?
Nick: “My grandfather was an amazing pianist and I think I got all of my musical talent from him. He can play everything by ear so growing up around him really influenced me in that aspect.”
One of my best friends Olivia first introduced me to your music a few years ago, and she was absolutely buzzing to share with me that you guys were from Columbus, Ohio (whoop!). How did growing up there shape you both as people and as artists?
Blake: “We were growing up right around the time that Twenty One Pilots was getting popular in Columbus, so we both got to witness what their rise to fame was like. Both of us attended a lot of their earliest gigs so seeing their shows made me realize that’s what I wanted to do one day.”
Now being based in Nashville, do you find a lot of inspiration around you there?
Nick: “The scene in Nashville is overall very supportive and we feel that we’re able to grow a lot more here than in a place like LA. There’s tons of musical history here as well so it’s cool to see what came before us.”
Blake: “Nashville is like a small town compared to LA so you kind of have that small town support rather than making music in a sea of 15 million people.”
What did each of you want to be when you grew up as a kid? Was being a musician always on the radar?
Blake: “I don’t think I really knew what I wanted to be for awhile. I went to college for finance and marketing, and later philosophy, but music is something that I always enjoyed so it’s always been on my mind.”
Nick: “I was definitely influenced by my music my whole life but I never really thought of it as a career. I originally thought that I wanted to go into medicine but I eventually saw a songwriter who was my age right before college which pushed me to try writing my own songs. It kind of took off from there and I got into Belmont, which is when my career shifted.”
You both mesh extremely well together sonically, did you always know what you wanted your music to sound like or did it take some time to find your sound?
Blake: “I think we’re always exploring our sound since we both like a lot of different things. It was easy for us to mesh together when it came to writing music because we have a lot of overlapping stuff.”
Nick: “At the beginning, we were bringing all of our influences in and it was hard to figure out what we wanted to sound like as Bird and Byron rather than sounding like some of our influences like The Black Keys or Paul McCartney. I feel like now we’re in a good groove that we’re not thinking about that and we’re just writing stuff that sounds authentically like us.”
You just put out a collection of singles, the newest one being “How Love Grows.” What did the creative process look like for these songs?
Blake: “Most of those songs were made in the process of us moving and trying to get comfortable in Nashville, while also trying to nail down our production. They’re a collection of love songs.”
Nick: “It’s kind of a reflection on a new location. Living on our own as a duo is really influencing our music since we’re able to have our own creative space. The music is definitely benefitting from that.”
You guys have been posting “One Take Tuesdays” on social media for quite some time, and you guys absolutely crush every single one. They usually feature a cover or original demo. What inspired you guys to start making these?
Blake: “It was the middle of the pandemic and we were still wanting to write and record all of the time. We wanted to find something that we could consistently post and share original music and covers. It’ll hopefully keep growing and evolve into different things.”
Nick: “We released our first single as a group right when everything first shut down in 2020 but we were really keen on growing the band as a live act. When the pandemic happened, we were trying to find a way to adapt and show our creations virtually. It ended up connecting with people and we love doing it.”
Who are some of your favorite musicians, old or new?
Blake: “I’m a big Beatles fan and I’ve always been a huge admirer of Paul McCartney. I listen to a lot of Aretha Franklin, Alabama Shakes, and I also grew up on Jimi Hendrix so I really love him.”
Nick: “Listening to The Black Keys for the first time blew my mind. 50s and 60s blues and soul music are huge influences for me. Durand Jones is a big modern influence for me as well as Charlie Megira.”
You guys are about to hit the road supporting The Criticals for your first ever tour, which is super exciting so congratulations!! How are you feeling in anticipation of the tour?
Blake: “Honestly so excited. We’re bringing along a great group of guys who are super knowledgeable of the music that we’re presenting to them. These will be some of the biggest stages that we’ve played so getting the chance to play some of these cities is super cool.”
I saw your guys’ show at The Basement back in October, that show was absolutely electric and I cannot even begin to express what amazing performers you both are. I know there were also lots of family and friends in the crowd, so how did it feel playing a show in your hometown surrounded by all of that love and support?
Nick: “It’s really the best thing being able to play in the place that you grew up in and having all of that support around you. It takes an edge off and you play better and harder. It was a lot of fun.”
What are each of your desert island albums, if you could only listen to one album forever?
Blake: “Shoot! One album? I’ll have to do a few. Right now it would be If I Am Only My Thoughts by Loving, Sea of Nothing by Drugdealer, and probably The Beatles white album.”
Nick: “Mine would be Tomorrow’s Gone by Charlie Megira, I feel like that album has all of his greatest songs compiled on it. Probably also the compilation album of all of Acetone’s best songs because I could never get tired of that.”
What does the future of Bird and Byron look like? Any goals or hopes for what’s in store?
Blake: “We anticipate this tour going very well and we’re super excited for it. We just hope to keep growing. This is going to be big eventually!”
Nick: “Being able to do a cross country tour and eventually Europe would be amazing. We’re also working on our debut album that’s coming out later this year which is a big goal of ours and we’re super excited about it.”
Bird and Byron are both truly lovely and extremely talented guys, and I feel immensely grateful that I had the privilege of getting to know them at this point in their careers. It’s really special to see them during this part of their journey, because it is just the beginning! Be sure to keep Bird and Byron on your radar, I have a feeling that they have a magnificent future ahead.