| Today, Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham join forces to announce a top-to-bottom cover album of the 1973 cult classic, Buckingham Nicks. Arriving October 18th via Loma Vista Recordings / Verve Forecast / Concord, Cunningham Bird sees the two close friends and virtuosic musicians honoring an overlooked LP that they each fell deeper in love with the more they listened, learned and made their own. Long out-of-print and still not available on digital platforms, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks’ eponymous debut preceded the duo’s indispensable career with Fleetwood Mac, and in these songs, Cunningham and Bird reinterpret that energy of infinite possibility. Embodying the record’s same spirit of self-confidence, Cunningham Bird brings a discerning reverence to the music’s youthful ambition, turning timeless work into something new. While the sequencing remains exactly the same, the sound of Cunningham Bird does not. Produced by Mike Viola, it features only Griffin Goldsmith on drums and percussion, Mike Viola on wurlitzer, bass and drums, and the many subtle, singular sonic signatures of Madison and Andrew. |
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Andrew Bird & Madison Cunningham – Crying In The Night (Official Video)
“It’s hard to listen to Buckingham Nicks’ 1973 debut album without trying to imagine it as a prequel to Fleetwood Mac’s legend. It’s hard to listen to this album period, as it’s out-of-print and not available on any streaming services. Yet it’s that youthful ambition and overindulgence that make it fascinating. The best reason to cover anyone is that little part of you that thinks you might do it better. This album epitomizes excess and confidence, and it only made sense to embody that spirit ourselves. The confidence, that is, to mess with an iconic, if underrated gem. Madison is the most talented musician I’ve encountered. She has a restless ear, always looking for a new sound or harmonic twist. Her voice is goosebump inducing, nimble and emotive at any volume. I just had to find the right project for us to go deep on and this is it.”–Andrew Bird
Following Cunningham Bird’s digital release on October 18th, the physical LP/CD editions of the record will arrive December 13th. Before then, Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham will perform the album in its entirety at The Troubadour on September 30th. Earlier this summer, Andrew and Madison debuted Cunningham Bird during standout live sets at Newport Folk Festival, Bumbershoot, and The Hollywood Bowl, but for one night only, the pair returns to the same Los Angeles venue that Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks played on the heels of Buckingham Nicks in October 1973.
“Ever since knowing and playing with Andrew, I’ve wanted to join forces with him independently of our own projects. He’s one of my favorite artists alive and one of the deepest musical collaborators I’ve been lucky enough to have. This buried Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham record found us in a place where we were trying to figure out what we could do together. Unfamiliar with it, but excited by its scarcity on streaming platforms, we decided to take it on from front to back, in our own way. It was unsurprising to me how it ended up becoming one of the most creatively satisfying record-making experiences I’ve had, but the unforeseen bonus was how relevant some of those lyrics would be to my own life in the time of making it. It became a lifeline for me, and I hope we’ve done it justice.” –Madison Cunningham
Having remained frequent collaborators since 2019’s Grammy-nominated My Finest Work Yet, Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham have shared stages and studios countless times over the years. In addition to The Troubadour, other upcoming performances of Cunningham Bird include Infinite Dream Festival and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. Read additional insight from Andrew & Madison about the project in VARIETY. |
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About Andrew Bird Andrew Bird is an internationally acclaimed, Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, whistler, and songwriter. Since beginning his recording career in 1997, Bird has released 18 albums and performed extensively across the globe, headlining concerts at Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and festivals worldwide. Bird has been a featured TED Talks presenter, a New Yorker Festival guest, and an op-ed contributor for the New York Times. He performed as the Whistling Caruso in Disney’s The Muppets and scored the FX Series Baskets. Shortly after receiving his 2020 Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album, with My Finest Work Yet, Bird made his professional acting debut in the cast of Fargo’s fourth season. Bird’s latest album, Sunday Morning Put-On (2024), finds him re-immersed in a lifelong love of mid-century, small group jazz and the Great American Songbook.
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About Madison Cunningham Madison Cunningham is a 27-year-old GRAMMY award-winning artist and songwriter known for her “wonderfully tangled imagery and cutting self-awareness” (NPR). As a guitarist, Madison has pushed the boundaries of a conventional singer-songwriter as her “guitar work is both classic and wildly emotive, and her soaring vocals are pristine and inspired” (Consequence). Madison first picked up a guitar at age seven, and by age twelve was singing and performing alongside her five siblings in church. In her teenage years, she met Tyler Chester who would later go on to be a close collaborator and producer of several of Madison’s projects including Who Are You Now (2019) which Atwood Magazine described as “a guitar-driven record, full of twisting, meticulously arranged parts and interlocking melodies. It’s almost labyrinthine; you could get lost in her swirling words.”
Cunningham’s latest effort, Revealer, won the GRAMMY for Best Folk Album. Revealer finds her working once again with producer Tyler Chester along with Mike Elizondo and Tucker Martine. Written and recorded over all states of the pandemic, Madison says, “To me, ‘revealer’ is the binding theme of the album. The hand that slowly chips away at the mirror in which you see yourself and the world and replaces it with the reflection that is most true.” The album is “full of intricate musicianship, alongside forthright observations” (All Music), intimations and hard truths—a self-portrait of a young artist who is full of doubt and uncertainty yet bursting with exciting ideas about music and life. |
