Meg Baird is an American musician based in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States, who, in addition to her solo career, is known as a founding member, lead vocalist, and drummer for

Heron Oblivion Heron Oblivion is an American psychedelic rock supergroup that first performed in April 2014, when they opened for the War on Drugs. Its members, all of whom were active in the psych-rock scene in the mid 2000s, are: singer and drummer Meg Baird ...

, along with members from

Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound is a psychedelic rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in the early 2000s.Greene, Jo-Ann. "''Ekranoplan'." ''Allmusic''. Retrieved July 11, 2009.Stewart-Panko, Kevin (June 2009). "Assemble Head in Sunburst ...

and

Comets on Fire Comets on Fire were an American noise rock band from Santa Cruz, California, United States. The band was formed in 1999 by guitarist and vocalist Ethan Miller and longtime friend bassist Ben Flashman, who were seeking to create rhythmically a ...

. She was also a guitarist and the lead female vocalist in Philadelphia psychedelic folk rock band Espers, and played drums in Philadelphia punk band

Watery Love Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a s ...

. Baird frequently collaborates with the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

-based harpist Mary Lattimore.

Early life

Originally from

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States, Baird's family history is based in the folk tradition: Baird is the great-great niece of Isaac Garfield "I.G." Greer, a historian and Appalachian folk singer born in 1881. His inclusion on one of the earliest albums issued by the

Archive of Folk Culture The Archive of Folk Culture (originally named The Archive of American Folk Song) was established in 1928 as the first national collection of American folk music in the United States of America. It was initially part of the Music Division of the Libr ...

in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

helped expose Baird to folk music at a young age, while she was taking piano lessons, teaching herself guitar, and listening to

Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fo ...

albums.

Music

While a member of Espers In 2007, Baird released her first solo album, ''

Dear Companion ''Dear Companion'' is Espers vocalist Meg Baird's first solo album. It was released in 2007 to critical praise. The album contains three traditional folk songs, four covers of more recent songs, and two original songs written by Baird. The a ...

'', on the Drag City record label. Baird's second solo album, '' Seasons on Earth'', was released in 2011 and received favorable reviews from ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...

'',

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, '' Spin'' and

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

. This was followed by '' Don't Weigh Down the Light'' in 2015, described as "post-folk" by the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

Bands and collaborations

Baird was a founding member of the Philadelphia psychedelic folk group Espers, whose first album was released by Time-Lag Records in 2003. In 2014, Baird joined

as lead vocalist and drummer. The supergroup includes Charles Saufley, Noel Van Harmonson (

), and Ethan Miller ( Howlin Rain,

). She also plays with sister Laura in The Baird Sisters and have released three albums between 2003 and 2011. In 2013, the Baird Sisters joined Glenn Jones on ''My Garden State''. Between 2009 and 2012, Baird played drums for Philadelphia punk band Watery Love. In 2018, Baird and Mary Lattimore released their album ''Ghost Forests'' to critical acclaim, reaching the number three position on

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

new age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

chart.

Touring

As a solo artist, she has toured with many noted fingerstyle guitarists, including

Bert Jansch Herbert Jansch (3 November 1943 – 5 October 2011) was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s as an acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter ...

James Blackshaw James Blackshaw (born 1981) is an English, Hastings-based folk fingerstyle guitarist and pianist. Blackshaw primarily plays an acoustic 12 string guitar and has been compared to Bert Jansch, Robbie Basho, John Fahey, Jack Rose, and Leo Kottk ...

, Micah Blue Smaldone, Michael Chapman,

Glenn Jones Glenn Jones (born September 27, 1962 in Jacksonville, Florida) is an American R&B/soul singer. He is best known for his songs "Show Me", "We've Only Just Begun (The Romance Is Not Over)" and "Here I Go Again" which reached No. 1 on the Billboa ...

, Michael Hurley, and Jack Rose. In February 2016 Baird served as the support act to

Ryley Walker Ryley Walker (born July 21, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Rockford, Illinois. Biography Walker, and critics, have cited the band Genesis and singer-songwriter Nick Drake as early influences. Walker began his career ...

and

Danny Thompson Daniel Henry Edward Thompson (born 4 April 1939) is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist. He has had a long musical career playing with a large variety of other musicians, particularly Richard Thompson and John Mart ...

on an extensive tour of the United Kingdom. In 2019, Baird and Mary Lattimore toured extensively in support of their album ''Ghost Forests''.

Style and influences

Evoking Appalachian and anglo-American folk ballads, Baird's vocal style has been compared to members of the UK folk-rock scene, including Celia Humpris of

Trees In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are u ...

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...

Sandy Denny Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as "the pre-eminent British folk rock singer". After briefly w ...

, and Pentangle's

Jacqui McShee Jacqueline 'Jacqui' McShee (born 25 December 1943) is an English singer. Since 1966 she has performed with Pentangle, a jazz-influenced folk rock band. Biography McShee was born in Catford, South London. Her musical career began as a soloist in ...

Discography

Meg Baird

*''Waltze of the Tennis Players/Dear Companion (A Capella Version)'' 7-inch (2006) (Tequila Sunrise) *''

'' CD/LP (2007) (Drag City/Wichita/P-Vine) *'' Seasons on Earth'' CD/LP (2011) (Drag City) *'' Don't Weigh Down the Light'' (2015) (Drag City) *''Furling'' (2023) (Drag City)

Meg Baird & Mary Lattimore

*''Fair Annie'' 7-inch split with

Sarah Silverman Sarah Kate Silverman (born December 1, 1970) is an American comedian, actress, and writer. Silverman was a writer and performer on ''Saturday Night Live'', and she starred in and produced '' The Sarah Silverman Program'', which ran from 2007 to ...

- 7-Inches for Planned Parenthood 10×7″ box set (2017) *''Ghost Forests'' CD/LP (2018) (Three Lobed)

Heron Oblivion

*''Heron Oblivion'' CD/LP (2016) (

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are often ...

)

Espers

*'' Espers'' (2004) (Time-Lag) *'' The Weed Tree'' (2005) (Locust Music) *'' II'' (2006) (Drag City) *'' III'' (2009) (Drag City)

The Baird Sisters

*''At Home'' CD-R (2003) (self-released) *''Lonely Town'' CD (2008) (self-released) *''Until You Find Your Green'' LP, ed. 300 (2012) (Grapefruit) *

/ The Baird Sisters ''My Garden State'' CD/LP (2013) (Thrill Jockey)

Collaborations and backing vocals

*Meg Baird, Helena Espvall,

Sharron Kraus Sharron Kraus is an English singer, songwriter and musician with strong ties to the US. Kraus was born in New York but grew up in Leicester, England. She has lived in Philadelphia and collaborated with American musicians, including Meg Baird, Hel ...

, ''Leaves from Off the Tree'' CD/LP (2006) (Bo'Weavil) * Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - ''

Ask Forgiveness ''Ask Forgiveness'' is a 2007 EP by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy. It is a collection of covers, with the exception of one original song by Oldham. Track listing # "I Came to Hear the Music" (Mickey Newbury) # " I've Seen It All" ( Björk, Sjón, Lar ...

'' CD/EP (2007) (Drag City)Jurek, Thom. "Ask Forgiveness Review" ''Allmusic'', retrieved April 15, 2009. *

Sharon Van Etten Sharon Katharine Van Etten (born February 26, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released six studio albums, the latest of which is '' We've Been Going About This All Wrong'' (2022). Early life Van Etten was born in Belleville, N ...

- '' Epic'' CD/LP (2010) (Ba Da Bing!) *

Kurt Vile Kurt Samuel Vile (born January 3, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is known for his solo work and as the former lead guitarist of rock band the War on Drugs. Both in the studio and during li ...

- ''

Smoke Ring for My Halo ''Smoke Ring for My Halo'' is the fourth studio album by American indie rock musician Kurt Vile, released on March 8, 2011 on Matador. A deluxe edition was released in November 2011, including the subsequent EP, '' So Outta Reach'' (2011). The al ...

'' CD/LP (2011) (Matador) *

- '' Singles Going Home Alone#6'' split 7-inch (2011) (Matador)

Watery Love

*''Debut 45'' 7-inch (2009) (Richie) *''Two Thrills'' 7-inch (2011) (Negative Guest List/Little Big Chief) *''Die With Dignity'' 7-inch (2012) (Siltbreeze)

Compilations

*''So Much Fire to Roast Human Flesh'' CD (2006) (Bastet) *''Loving Takes This Course: A Tribute to the Songs of

Kath Bloom Katherine Bloom is an American folk songwriter based in Litchfield, Connecticut. Biography The daughter of oboist Robert Bloom, Bloom grew up in New Haven, Connecticut, where she studied the cello as a child and started playing the guitar when ...

'' CD (2009) (

Chapter Music Chapter Music is one of Australia's longest-running independent record labels. Chapter Music has worked with a broad range of mostly Australian artists, in genres such as rock and roll, indie pop, post punk, country and western and folk. Betwee ...

) *''Meet the Philly Elite'' (with Jack Rose, Kurt Vile, and US Girls) 7-inch (2009) (Kraak) *''We are all one, In the Sun: A tribute to Robbie Basho'' CD/LP (2010) (Important Records) *''Shirley Inspired'' CD/LP (2015) (Earth Records)

References

External links

Official websiteDrag City Records siteThe Baird Sisters official websiteBaird discusses new album ''Seasons on Earth''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baird, Meg Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women guitarists Guitarists from Pennsylvania American folk musicians Drag City (record label) artists Wichita Recordings artists Espers (band) members