Andrew Bird

Wielding many instruments and a remarkable whistling ability, Bird has developed an offbeat marriage of classical and pop music over the course of his decade-long career. The musical polymath has never been one to limit his sound, incorporating traditional folk, swing, zydeco, rock, electronica and indie-pop into his work. Hear Bird perform live in concert from WXPN in Philadelphia.

Bird is a gangly, classically trained violinist who mixes jazz, folk and quirky art-pop with whistled melodies. Along the way, he's attracted the kind of screaming crowds normally reserved for pop stars. Hear what hype is all about when NPR Music webcasts Bird's entire concert from the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., tonight, Feb. 3. The live stream will begin online at approximately 8 p.m. ET, with an opening performance by Loney Dear.

Andrew Bird makes the kind of music that leaves critics groping for labels. A classically trained violinist, former swing jazz musician and now art rock virtuoso, Bird is one of the most imaginative and distinctive voices making music today. Hear Bird in a full concert, recorded live from Washington, D.C.

Wielding many instruments and a remarkable whistling ability, Bird has developed an offbeat marriage of classical and pop music over the course of his decade-long career. Describing his new album, Noble Beast, as a less electric effort, Bird still finds value in carefully chosen words.

Throughout his decade-long career, the songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has skillfully blended rock, folk, jazz and retro swing music. The new Armchair Apocrypha continues his trend toward a more crowd-pleasing sound.

Bird has developed a unique sound originating in blues, folk and rock. Armchair Apocrypha, the singer's eighth full-length album in ten years, showcases his ongoing evolution. Hear a performance recorded live at the Bumbershoot Festival.

Andrew Bird incorporates string arrangements and intelligent lyrics into a batch of strong, alluring pop songs. The violinist, guitarist and songwriter joined David Dye, host of WXPN's World Cafe, for an interview and in-studio performance.

Andrew Bird has emerged as one of the most inventive and acclaimed multi-instrumentalists around. His music has quickly grown moodier and less tethered to trends — not to mention genres — as his creative output piles up. Produced by WXPN.

Andrew Bird's music has been defying description for years. "I sort of play with words and ideas, and they eventually kind of find their way into the nooks and crannies of the melodies," Bird says.

The singer and multi-instrumentalist relies on violins, guitars and whistling to craft a unique sound that's difficult to describe. On his latest album, Noble Beast, Bird even uses his words as instruments, creating lyrics from archaic and esoteric words that conform to the melodies in his head.

With a penchant for constantly reinventing his sound, Andrew Bird is an unusual combination of songwriter, violinist, guitarist, vocalist and professional whistler. On his new CD, The Mysterious Production of Eggs, he plays virtually every instrument.

Violinist, singer and composer Andrew Bird tries to re-create another time and place with his music. His new CD, Thrills, combines modern composition with an old sound: swing.

Bird is a gangly, classically trained violinist who mixes jazz, folk and quirky art-pop with whistled melodies. Along the way, he's attracted the kind of screaming crowds normally reserved for pop stars. Hear what hype is all about when NPR Music webcasts Bird's entire concert from the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., tonight, Feb. 3. The live stream will begin online at approximately 8 p.m. ET, with an opening performance by Loney Dear.

We start the new year with a new mix, featuring an exclusive preview of Andrew Bird's latest album, Noble Beast. The classically trained violinist and singer performs a quirky mix of whistled melodies, Gypsy ballads, folk and art-rock. We've got the song "Oh No" here, but you can also hear the entire album as part of our "first listen" series. Also on the show: classic folk-rock singer Benjy Ferree, the Afro-funk rhythms of Chopteeth, an eclectic mixtape from Malawi-born singer Esau Mwamwaya, the haunting guitars of Begushkin, and the jazz trio Bad Plus covers the music of Pink Floyd.

Bird is a classically trained violinist and former swing-jazz musician whose sonic palette includes a quirky mix of Gypsy ballads, jazz, folk and whistled melodies. It's a sound that leaves critics swooning and fans giddy with the kind of devotion normally reserved for pop idols. On Jan. 20, 2009, the singer will release his fifth full-length studio album. Hear Noble Beast in its entirety here, exclusively on NPR Music.

Tens of thousands of listeners voted in the All Songs Considered poll for the year's best CDs. It was tight for much of the race, but in the end, Radiohead's In Rainbows was an overwhelming winner as 2007's most popular album.

Steve Seel, afternoon music host on Minnesota Public Radio's The Current, offers his picks for the Top 10 albums of the year.

With all the noise on radio today, Esquire music critic Andy Langer picks eight tracks that have been criminally underplayed.

Andrew Bird's new Armchair Apocrypha finds him continuing to prove himself as a performer of significant elegance and depth. "Scythian Empires" amply demonstrates his gifts for marrying obtuse-but-evocative imagery to uncommonly lovely arrangements.

We start the new year with a new mix, featuring an exclusive preview of Andrew Bird's latest album, Noble Beast. The classically trained violinist and singer performs a quirky mix of whistled melodies, Gypsy ballads, folk and art-rock. We've got the song "Oh No" here, but you can also hear the entire album as part of our "first listen" series. Also on the show: classic folk-rock singer Benjy Ferree, the Afro-funk rhythms of Chopteeth, an eclectic mixtape from Malawi-born singer Esau Mwamwaya, the haunting guitars of Begushkin, and the jazz trio Bad Plus covers the music of Pink Floyd.

With all the noise on radio today, Esquire music critic Andy Langer picks eight tracks that have been criminally underplayed.

Andrew Bird's new Armchair Apocrypha finds him continuing to prove himself as a performer of significant elegance and depth. "Scythian Empires" amply demonstrates his gifts for marrying obtuse-but-evocative imagery to uncommonly lovely arrangements.