Paper Bird was a six-piece

indie folk Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation. The genre has its ...

band based in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. The band was composed of Carleigh Aikins (vocals), brother and sister Mark (drums) and Sarah Anderson (vocals, cornet, trumpet), Paul DeHaven (guitar), and Caleb Summeril (bass, banjo, guitar, harmonica).

History

Paper Bird formed in 2006, and their self-released first album, ''Anything Nameless and Joymaking'', appeared in 2007. In the summer of 2008, Paper Bird went on their first national tour with

New Belgium Brewery New Belgium Brewing Company is a nationally distributed brewery in the United States. The brand produces Fat Tire Amber Ale, Voodoo Ranger IPA, Mural Agua Fresca Cerveza, and La Folie Sour Brown Ale, among other regular and seasonal beer varietie ...

's "Tour de Fat". On their East Coast tour, they had numerous sold-out venues, including some in Philadelphia and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. They were successful locally and were voted "top band" by

5280 ''5280'' is an American monthly magazine focused on Denver, Colorado and published by 5280 Publishing, Inc.High Sierra Music Festival High Sierra Music Festival is a multi-day music festival held in Quincy, California, United States, a mountainous area about 80 miles northwest of Reno, Nevada. History The first High Sierra Music Festival was in 1991, and was the genesis of ...

Oregon Country Fair The Oregon Country Fair (OCF) is a nonprofit organization and an annual three-day art and music fair held outside the city limits of Veneta, Oregon, United States. Located in the Willamette Valley, the site is about west of Eugene along the ...

Mile High Music Festival The Mile High Music Festival was an annual two-day concert that took place for three years. It was held in Commerce City, Colorado at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, first done on July 19 and 20, 2008. The concert was originally scheduled to be held ...

and

10,000 Lakes Festival The 10,000 Lakes Festival (abbreviated as 10KLF) was an annual four-day music festival in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, at the Soo Pass Ranch that was held from 2003 until 2009 before going on indefinite hiatus due to financial losses and has not bee ...

. Paper Bird shared the stage with Hall & Oates,

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros is an American folk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2005. The group is led by singer Alex Ebert. The band's name is based on a story Ebert wrote in his youth, about a messianic figure named E ...

, Nathaniel Rateliff,

Neko Case Neko Richelle Case (; born September 8, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian indie rock group the New Pornographers. Case has a powerful, untrained contralto voice, which has been described by contemporaries and cri ...

, DeVotchKa, the

Lumineers The Lumineers are an American alternative folk band based in Denver, Colorado. The founding members are Wesley Schultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion, piano). Schultz and Fraites began writing and performing toget ...

and others. The EP ''A Sky Underground'' was picked up and re-released digitally April 2010 by

Park The Van Records Park the Van Records is an American record label and management company from New Orleans, Louisiana that was formed in 2004 by Christopher Watson to release music by the band, Dr. Dog. After Hurricane Katrina, the office was moved to Schwenksvil ...

. and the live EP ''Live at Twist & Shout''. In July 2010, the band again self-released their second full-length album ''When the River Took Flight''. In the fall of 2010, Paper Bird began working with

Ballet Nouveau Colorado Wonderbound (formerly Ballet Nouveau Colorado) is a contemporary ballet company based in Denver, Colorado. It is the second largest ballet company in the state. History Ballet Nouveau Colorado Ballet Nouveau Colorado was founded in 1992 as a ...

. The band composed the music for a ballet entitled ''Carry On.'' Their music was then combined with the choreography and films by

Garrett Ammon Garrett may refer to: Places ;United States * Garrett, Illinois * Garrett, Indiana * Garrett, Kentucky (multiple places) ** Garrett, Floyd County, Kentucky, an unincorporated community ** Garrett, Meade County, Kentucky, an unincorporated communi ...

, it thus became a multi-media performance which debuted at the Lakewood Cultural Center on February 4, 2011, and was played to sold-out houses in February. ''Carry On'' was released as a full-length, two-act live album on June 11, 2011. They recorded it live onstage with the ballerinas. Paper Bird hired Mark Anderson and

Stelth Ulvang Stelth Ulvang is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a touring member of the folk rock band The Lumineers. He is also the co-founder of the Front Range-based band The Dovekins. In February 2015, Ulvang ...

to perform the ballet. Anderson was inducted to the band's roster after the ballet. In September 2012, the band released a remix album entitled ''Carry On RMXD: Paper Bird Reimagined''. It is an eclectic and electronic exploration of their typically organic sound. After touring in 2012, Paper Bird returned to the studio to craft their fourth full-length album, ''Rooms'', released March 26, 2013. Produced by William Ryan Fritch, ''Rooms'' was written in October/November 2012 and recorded at Mighty Fine Audio in Denver in December. It is their first recording without a trombone, and with Mark Anderson's percussion playing a greater role. The band toured extensively throughout North America in 2013 and 2014 and, in-mid 2014, parted ways with vocalist Esmé Patterson. Toronto-based singer Carleigh Aikins (Bahamas, Foxjaws) joined Paper Bird. Their fifth record was produced by

John Oates John William Oates (born April 7, 1948) is an American musician, best known as half of the rock and soul duo Hall & Oates, with Daryl Hall. He has played rock, R&B, and soul music, acting as a guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer ...

and recorded at Addiction Studios in Nashville. In 2017, the band broke up, as its members all decided it was time to pursue other projects.

Musical style

Paper Bird was a five-piece band composed of three female lead vocals, guitar, bass, and drums. Unlike most bands, which tend to play exclusively four-beat or three-beat, they often played in odd meters, such as seven-beat and five-beat. Having three lead singers allowed them to have rich multi-part vocal harmonies. While their sound has been described as "vintage" and "timeless", their sound evolved significantly after the band's inception. Paper Bird focused on the vocal harmonies of their music, which have been described as "velvety and sweet". ''Rooms'' found them digging deeper into their influences: gospel, soul, rock and roll, shoe-gaze, African rhythms, indie pop, folk, R&B, and jazz.

Albums

* ''Anything Nameless and Joymaking'' (2007 - self released) * ''A Sky Underground'' (2009 - self released) (2010 -

) * ''Live at Twist and Shout'' (2009 - Twist & Shout Records) * ''When the River Took Flight'' (2010 - self released) * ''Carry On'' (2011 - self released) * ''Carry On RMXD: (Paper Bird Reimagined)'' (2012 - self released) * ''Rooms'' (2013 - self released) * ''Paper Bird'' (2016 - Thirty Tigers/Sons of Thunder)

References

External links

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Paper Bird
at OurStage {{Authority control American folk musical groups Musical groups from Denver Indie folk musicians