Harry Bird is a Glasgow based singer-songwriter, composer and circus/theatre musician. With a deep love of stories and how we can connect through them, he has spent the last 15 years touring hundreds of venues all over Europe and beyond.
A migrant for much of his life, his multilingual lyrics and genre hopping song writing celebrate his own British folk roots and those of others in the belief that music can act as both a mirror and a bridge across all kinds of very different human experience.
Original, entertaining and thought provoking, his energetic, feel-good shows are not to be missed.
“Songwriting genius… Simply magnificent”
– R2 magazine
“Fresh and entertaining as few others”
– Spain’s Mondo Sonoro magazine
“A big draw on the live circuit”
– fRoots magazine
After a long partnership with travelling folksters the Rubber Wellies, 2023 has seen Harry collaborating with old friends and new (such as jit legend Rise Kagona of the Bhundu Boys) to complete his first solo album, Mucho Picnic, begun during lockdown and scheduled for release this autumn. Bead Off a String, the first single, was released in October 2022.
Harry Bird and the Rubber Wellies releases are: Long Way to Be Free (2009), The Bones on Black (2012), Kettle of Silver (2013) and the critically acclaimed Bricks and Feathers (2015) – voted #3 in Spain’s Top 10 national folk and americana albums of 2015 (Mondo Sonoro).
In the world of circus Harry has composed the soundtrack to four acrobatic street shows: Echadas a la Mar (2009) and Vademécum (2012) with the circus band Txintxo por Tatu, as well as the one-man-band loop extravaganza that is Paradoxa (2016) and the multi-instrumental, beat-infused Aukerak (2018).
On stage has appeared in the 5 star Bristol Old Vic Christmas 2022/23 production of The Nutcracker, in the role of Bear/Musician. This follows his role as Mr Ridley/Musician in A Christmas Carol, the 2018/19 and 2019/20 smash hit directed by the same creative team of Lee Lyford, Gwyneth Herbert and Tom Morris.
Harry has also co-read three Penguin audiobooks, singing with Gwyneth Herbert on: Ladybird Classic Nursery Rhymes Collection (2016), Ladybird Christmas Carol Treasury (2019) and Ladybird Lullabies: Songs for Bedtime (2020).
Born in Cambridge and raised in Amman, Cairo and Edinburgh, he lived for 15 years in Bilbao before moving back to Scotland and his current base on the west coast.