The Stray Birds Make Yep Roc Records Label Debut; ‘Best Medicine’ Out October 21

The Stray Birds—Maya de Vitry (vocals, guitar, banjo, fiddle, piano), Oliver Craven (vocals, guitar, resonator, fiddle), and Charles Muench (vocals, bass, banjo)—whose “playing is gorgeous, the harmonies exquisite” (WXPN The Key) will make their Yep Roc Records label debut October 21 with the release of their second full-length studio album, Best Medicine. A fall tour will be announced soon.

Following the band’s 2012 highly praised self-titled release, which NPR Music named Top 10 Folk/Americana album and proclaimed, “clearly these are players with chops, songwriters with a fierce command of their craft,” Best Medicine was recorded at Stonebridge Studios in Leesburg, VA. Co-produced by the band and Stuart Martin, the album features 12 tracks, including 10 original compositions and two traditional songs, “Pallet” and “Who’s Gonna Shoe.”

Formed in Lancaster, PA in the fall of 2010, the classically trained and roots music-raised trio has spent the last several years honing their sound and touring extensively, including live performances on NPR’s Mountain Stage, Philadelphia Folk Festival, Kerrville Folk Festival and Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. “Building on the sparseness of guitar, fiddle, bass, and three-part harmonies, the Stray Birds manage to create sounds together that are no less than transcendent.” (About.com).

The Borderland EP was released in 2010, followed by the eponymous full-length debut The Stray Birds in 2012 and the Echo Sessions EP in 2013.