LIVE: Birds of Chicago @ Caffe Lena, 1/22/16

Photographs by Andrzej Pilarczyk

Led by JT Nero and Allison Russell, the roots music collaborative Birds of Chicago made their Greater Nippertown debut last April as the opening act for the Carolina Chocolate Drops. They returned for an outdoor Made in the Shade of The Egg concert in July, and their soulful mix of folk, country and rhythm & blues also captured plenty of attention at MASS MoCA’s FreshGrass fest in September.

Building on the momentum (and fan base) that they built up in 2015, BoC kicked off the new year with a pair of back-to-back sold-out shows – first a Friday evening at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, followed up the next night by a stop at MASS MoCA’s Club B-10.

Going drummer-less this time around, the band was on a pre-release ramble, showcasing selections from their highly anticipated, Joe Henry-produced upcoming album, Real Midnight. (Listen to the album’s title track below).

Chances are good that they’ll be back in the area again soon. Don’t miss ’em…