Today, Two Bird Stone released their debut album, Hands & Knees, via Wondermore Records/Soundly Music. Each song on the endearing album showcases the band’s reverence for the traditional as they forge their own style of timeless Americana – each song heart-wrenching and heartwarming at once. The band was founded by string master Liam Thomas Bailey and features some of Nashville’s and New York’s finest musicians. Hands & Knees was co-produced by Bailey and friend and frequent collaborator Dan Rowe, who also contributed keys and vocals to the album. “This record was all about development,” Bailey told Wide Open Country for the album’s premiere. “I provided the song material and the band piled on as they came into the project. We’ve all played for many other artists professionally. Collaborations are second nature for us, but the secret sauce is the fact that we’ve known and loved each other for over 20 years.
I hope folks find our music reassuring. We sing songs about love, hope, the nature of change, and the beauty of the experience change will provide.” Their music, fueled by Bailey’s contemporary Americana songwriting and the group’s deep appreciation for the traditional fiddle music of Ireland, Scandinavia, and North America, pays tribute to the many swirling cultures that make up the American identity. Two Bird Stone also carefully incorporates traditional melodies and musical tendencies of cultures abroad to reflect the dimensions of this land’s powerful diversity. In lieu of the preservation of traditional material in any strict sense, however, Two Bird Stone likes to function as a lens through which an audience gets a fresh look at the culture of traditional tune sharing and the instruments upon which we would generally hear them played.
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Before spinning off to form Two Bird Stone, Bailey was a highly sought-after Nashville studio and road musician; he also worked in commercial post-production with bandmate, Chad Kelly (accordion), a two-time Emmy Award nominee who has composed original music for numerous award-winning and critically acclaimed films and documentaries. Bailey and bandmate Judd Fuller (bass, mandolin, background vocals) traveled the world together for 11 years as members of Nashville country star Rodney Atkins’ touring band. Fuller has also toured and performed with Peter Wolf from The J. Geils Band, Bo Diddley, Carly Simon, and more. New York-based percussionist, composer, and educator Rohin Khemani rounded out the lineup. Known as an extremely versatile and eclectic musician, his sound can be heard on a wide variety of projects weaving through the worlds of jazz, world music, rock, folk, and electronica. Khemani was a founding member of Red Baraat and co-leads the band Surface To Air with guitarist Jonathan Goldberger and bassist Jonti Siman. He has performed for audiences at some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls and festivals including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Monterey Jazz Festival, and more.
