BROWN BIRD

The Huntress & Holder of Hands in the Studio; Patreon launched

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The Huntress and Holder of Hands has been working on a full-length record! To help with the cost of studio time, MorganEve has launched a Patreon page. The hope is that with the help of monthly pledges, MorganEve will be able to continue to work on The Huntress while simultaneously advancing with memoir-writing, learning violin repair, and moving forward with plans to open a small music venue. Check out the page; send her an email. She wants to talk to you! Tour dates for The Huntress and Holder of Hands are posted on The Road.   

How MorganEve Swain became The Huntress and Holder of Hands

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Sisters of the Moon, November 15th 2015 •  Brooke Hollis On November 7th, 2015 MorganEve Swain released a three track EP, The Water Street Demos, as The Huntress and Holder of Hands on Bandcamp. Recording all of the parts herself, she delivered a testimony to her strength as a solo artist and a consummation of her instrumental talents. Though the gentle, fullness of her voice is the most powerful tool at her disposal, she also made exemplary use of the bass, cello, violin, and viola. This included a moving instrumental,“Etude”; a practice in wistful timing that leaves you feeling as though you are close to something, though you are not sure what, and before you can find it, it’s gone. [Read more...]

Brown Bird releases Final Album, ‘Axis Mundi’

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WBUR Radio Boston, May 7th 2015 •  Meghna Chakrabarti Back in 2011, we talked to the Rhode Island band, Brown Bird. The duo, Dave Lamb and MorganEve Swain, had just taken the Newport Folk Festival by storm. They got married and became a fixture in a growing group of musically restless, lyrically honest songwriters. [Read more...]

RI’s Brown Bird Finds A Solemn Victory On Final Album

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Rhode Island Public Radio, April 30 2015 • John Bender With its distinct, pulsing rhythm, a full drum set and electric bass, Axis Mundi, the new album from Brown Bird represents a departure of sorts. The sound is a retreat from the slower, more pared down music of the duo’s previous albums. But the gypsy influences and the intertwining voices of husband and wife David Lamb and MorganEve Swain are the same genre-defying sounds that brought the band to prominence just a few years ago. [Read more...]

Transformation comes, tempered by the flame: Brown Bird’s final, arresting dispatch

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Portland Phoenix, April 29 2015 • Jakob Battick “And if this flesh should fade, devour me from within, pray then my soul prevail, free to roam again.” It’s not easy to process these lyrics within the context of a new Brown Bird record, especially when you’ve just pushed play. After founding member David Lamb’s passing in April of last year, Axis Mundi, the duo’s latest and last album, feels even more devastating than you’d expect. The group, formed in 2003 as a solo project of Lamb’s, came with time to become one of Maine’s most cherished musical treasures. From their early days on Portland’s own Peapod Recordings through their time as an internationally acclaimed touring folk act, Lamb could always be trusted to write songs as intense as they were beautiful, and as razor-sharp in vision as they were humble and soulful. It’s a stupefying tragedy that he should have been taken away from the world so soon, but Axis Mundi stands as the most perfect possible parting note Lamb could have left. [Read more...]

DEAR FRIENDS,

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Over the past year, I have been so overwhelmed and grateful for the amount of love that has surrounded Dave and me throughout our life and career together. There have been so many beautiful stories shared about Dave—how humble he was, how gracious, how talented…He certainly was all those things. Four days after Dave and I met we became bandmates, lovers and business partners, and set the tone for what our life would be for the next six years. We never imagined the amount of success we would enjoy in those years, how many incredible friendships would be forged, the experiences we would share, and nothing could have prepared us for the events of this past year. Dave entered the battle with leukemia as only Dave could—determined, steadfast, smiling and always with his mind on our future. His incredible ability to continue writing through his struggle is something I’ll forever aspire to. On March 25th, we received the devastating news that Dave’s leukemia had relapsed, in a very sudden and extremely aggressive way. He began a rigorous round of chemo the next day, and by that evening the disease and it’s treatment had already wreaked havoc on his kidneys and lungs. During the next week, as our community rallied around me and our families, Dave’s body rapidly shut down and he slipped into a coma.On April 5th, 2014, surrounded by his family and so many friends, Dave peacefully let go. In the wake of his passing, I find myself continually surrounded by love and support, and motivated by his memory. You- our fans and friends, have become family to me, and as I hold Dave’s spirit close and soldier forward I am comforted by the knowledge that you all are still there—an army behind us.Thank you for all the love you’ve all shown us, and please keep in touch. You will be hearing from Brown Bird again, very soon. Love and gratitude, MorganEve

BE THE MATCH

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Schaff_Newport

This William Schaff original will be hanging out at the Be The Match tent at the Newport Folk Festival this weekend. Dave received a successful bone marrow transplant last September, through Be The Match. You could be someone's savior. Sign up to be a donor. 

 

Concert celebrates legacy of Brown Bird’s Dave Lamb

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The Boston Globe, April 10 2014 • James Reed Columbus_DavidLamb PROVIDENCE —It was not the kind of celebration anyone had in mind. It was supposed to be about looking forward, a chance to salute the years of good health and good music yet to come. All recent signs had suggested that Dave Lamb, who co-anchored the indie-folk duo Brown Bird, was on the mend after a nearly year long battle with leukemia. [Read more...]

David Lamb of Brown Bird dies of leukemia

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The Providence Journal, April 6 2014 • Alex Kuffner PROVIDENCE — David Lamb, 35, a guitarist and songwriter who performed with MorganEve Swain in the Rhode Island-based folk duo Brown Bird, died Saturday of leukemia. Swain, Lamb’s longtime musical partner and later his wife, announced Lamb’s death on Brown Bird’s Facebook page Saturday night: “Dave entered the battle with leukemia as only Dave could — determined, steadfast, smiling and always with his mind on our future. His incredible ability to continue writing through his struggle is something I’ll forever aspire to. This week was the toughest in the battle, as Dave’s body began to shut down under the stress of a year-long fight and a sudden and aggressive leukemic relapse. Today surrounded by his family and so many friends, Dave peacefully let go.” Lamb initially toured as a solo musician known as Brown Bird. He met Swain, a fiddler, on tour in 2008 and they became a well-known duo in folk music circles, eventually settling in an apartment in Warren. The group toured in the United States and Europe and played at the Newport Folk Festival. [Read more...]

In Memoriam: David Lamb of Brown Bird

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No Depression, April 5 2014  • Neil Ferguson The music world suffered a great loss on April 5, 2014 with the passing of David Lamb, one half of the Rhode Island husband and wife duo known as Brown Bird. When I received the news via my dad, who is a music writer himself and a DJ in our home state of Rhode Island and had originally introduced me to Brown Bird, I was hit with a wave of sadness unlike any I have felt in a long time. It wasn't just another death. Dave was a true musical spirit and an unbelievably talented singer-songwriter who is now gone from this world. He was also a Rhode Islander like myself. Words can't fully express the feeling I got when I found out that such a kind and all around genuine person had lost his battle with leukemia. Yet, if there is one thing to be learned in life it's that, while mourning has its value, it is far more important to celebrate a life lived. In this case it's not just a life lived, but a musical legacy that will forever live on and continue touching others for years to come. [Read more...]