Fish and Bird

Folk Alley recorded Fish & Bird in Toronto, ON, at the 2013 Folk Alliance conference – a great opportunity to meet and greet Canadian artists. The group is part of a very active music scene in Western Canada. Fish & Bird began in Victoria, BC in 2006 as an acoustic duo, comprised of Taylor Ashton (banjo, guitar, vocals) and Adam Iredale-Gray (fiddle, banjo, guitar, vocals). Their take on ‘folk’ included original songs in odd time signatures and traditional murder ballads with rock beats that grew into a more mature exploration of the space between folk traditions and reckless creativity, with Ashton and Gray playing multiple instruments on each song, and toying with the formats that inspired them. Some of the friends they enlisted to help fill out the sound on their records and at live shows eventually became permanent members of the band, and now Fish & Bird are a five-piece indie-folk powerhouse, with Ryan Boeur (electric and acoustic guitars), Ben Kelly (drums), and Natalie Bohrn (upright bass) joining Ashton and Gray. For this Folk Alliance Session, Tobias Meis subs on bass.

Hear Fish & Bird’s interview with Matt Watroba and see performance videos captured during our Folk Alliance International session!