If I described what Andrew Bird does, it wouldn’t sound like the likeliest formula for commercial success. He’s a virtuosic, classically trained violinist and expert whistler who, while he does make indie rock music, also works in classic American genres like jazz and swing. His most recent album, this year’s Sunday Morning Put-On, reinterprets a number of jazz classics, and he was, for a minute, a member of swing revival outfit The Squirrel Nut Zippers in the ’90s. (He remains close with that group’s leader, Jimbo Mathus, and they released an album together, These 13, a couple of years ago.)

Add to this that Bird is influenced by diverse forms of world music, an influence he honored by having long-running Malian duo Amadou & Mariam open for him when he visited Wolf Trap recently.

Despite this unlikely formula, Bird has become quite successful. And that fills me with hope, because it shows that there can be an audience for music with brilliant playing and fine, intelligent lyrics, even if it’s eclectic and doesn’t conform to the current day’s pop trends. On August 21 at Wolf Trap, one of the most beautiful evenings of the year, an unusually cool, clear night with a pleasant breeze welcomed a program of elegant, diverse music that fed the soul. (Bird mentioned he’d spent the day biking through the trails at Wolf Trap, and it was a perfect day for that.)

Speaking of elegance, that’s the best word to describe the early part of Andrew’s set, which he began with a few of the covers he recorded for Sunday Morning Put-On: “Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise” (William O’Neal) and “I Fall in Love Too Easily” (Frank Sinatra). Staying with jazz, he played a song from his early career recording career with Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire, “Why?” (I can’t resist the urge to say, “Why not?”)

As he moved into the further body of the set, Bird show that he’s a genuine triple threat. In addition to the violin, he played guitar — both acoustic and electric — and he sang wonderfully, songs that showed his strength as a writer. Of “Bloodless,” he said, “I hope that one will become obsolete someday. Things are starting to look up a little bit.”

Watch the official music video for “Bloodless” by Andrew Bird on YouTube:

“A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head” to the Left contained the lyric, “Over-imbibed, under the mister, barely alive, we cover our blisters in flannel, though the words we speak are banal, not one of them’s a lie.” Andrew explained that the lyric came from a conversation with his friend Howe Gelb (Giant Sand), who lives in Florida, and Howe said he was “under the mister.” At the time, Andrew didn’t know what a mister was, and thought that “under the mister” was some kind of idiomatic expression. Of “Faithless Ghost,” he said, “This is a song that was so hard to write and record, and I’m just determined to make it work.”

The set included many more of Bird’s original songs; “Atomized,” “Sisyphus,” “Underlands,” “Roma Fade,” “Orpheo Looks Back,” and “Manifest.” After a cover of Duke Ellington’s “Caravan,” he brought Amadou & Mariam out to perform their “Sans toi together.” He finished his set with “Tables and Chairs,” and for his encore did “Pulaski at Night.”

Amadou & Mariam have been playing music together for a long time: They met as students in a school for the blind in their native Mali. In fact, they’ve been playing music for nearly as long as Andrew Bird has been alive! It took them a long time for their work, which is excellent to get exposed to the wider world, but they’ve been recognized as fine musicians. I suspect that few people at this show were familiar with them before seeing them Wednesday, but they really impressed the audience with their skillful singing and playing and joyful sound.

Andrew Bird, of course, was impressive, as he always is. He’s a super-talented guy, a really great musician, and it’s always a pleasure to see him.

Here are some photos of Amadou & Mariam opening Andrew Bird at Wolf Trap on August 21, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of James Todd Miller.

Here are some photos of Andrew Bird performing at Wolf Trap on August 21, 2024. All pictures again copyright and courtesy of James Todd Miller.