Andrew Bird's first release on Righteous Babe Records is Weather Systems, a lush, gorgeous collection of 7 original songs plus Bird's own adaptation of a Galway Kinnell poem and a Handsome Family cover, which showcase this distinctive artist's gift for conveying subtle emotional states purely through music.

The songs on Weather Systems reveal themselves at a confidant, unhurried pace reflecting the thoughtfulness with which they were conceived. Bird retreated to a remote valley in western Illinois three hours west of Chicago, where he converted an old barn into a combination studio/living space and developed and recorded new solo material.

In addition to his signature violin, Bird employs glockenspiel, organ, whistling, and tape loops to set the scene for the intimate, haunting stories he tells through his lyrics. Former Bowl of Fire bandmates Kevin O'Donnell (drums, percussion, glockenspiel) and Nora O'Connor (vocals, guitar) accompany Bird, and producer/engineer Mark Nevers (Lambchop, Will Oldham) crafts a stunning, almost orchestral setting for the recording.