ABOUT US

The past few years have been quite a stir for the Minnesota progressive folk-rock-country sextet Maygen & The Birdwatcher. In late 2021 they released their debut full-length album, Moonshine, (which Americana UK wrote is “stunning”), earning them Midwest Country Music Awards for Album of the Year and Americana Artist of the Year) and landed opportunities to join festival stages with bands like Old Crow Medicine Show, Paul Cauthen, Grace Potter, and even support a childhood favorite, Travis Tritt.

They continued the momentum in late 2022, releasing Moonshine’s companion EP, with the “lively and charming” (Adventures in Americana) Bootleggin’ At The Flower Shoppe. With Maygen & The Birdwatcher taking home wins for the 2023 Album of the Year and Americana Artist of the Year at the Midwest Country Music Organization’s annual awards for Bootleggin’ At The Flower Shoppe.

The Americana folk band adventurously blurs the sounds of country, bluegrass, folk, and blues. Lead singers Maygen Lacey, and Noah Neumann intentionally work to draw on their vastly different musical influences and vocal styles to bring a fresh and unexpected mix of songs to light. From beauty to grit, sadness to silliness, the common thread is that this crew loves music, and playing it together, and it shows.

In October 2023, Maygen & The Birdwatcher hosted and curated the inaugural Amerigrass Fest at The Hook and Ladder Theater & Lounge in Minneapolis. Maygen Lacey cherishes the special community of musical artists in the Midwest, and looks forward to celebrating what each genre, and fusion of genres can bring about at the new event Amerigrass Fest — “We are big fans of collaboration and love to play with the bands we share the stage with. Music is our love language and we’re very excited to play Amerigrass with the talented array of artists.”

That same year, Maygen & The Birdwatcher teamed up with the South Dakota Grasslands Coalition, a non-profit organization to help save North America’s most threatened ecosystem: its native grasslands. Together, they released an original song and music video, titled “Where Good Things Grow,” that they hope will raise public awareness regarding the importance of grassland ecosystems and generate support for programs and activities to encourage farmers, ranchers and state officials to develop programs and policies that preserve and restore the health of North America’s grasslands. The original song and music video for “Where Good Things Grow,” have earned them the 2023 Video of the Year award from the Midwest Country Music Organization as well as 2023 Entertainer of the Year.

Maygen & The Birdwatcher’s music is Americana that isn’t afraid to embrace eclecticism, but it’s also firmly rooted in folk and country. To achieve their rich, full sound, the band fills out the sonic details, with multi-instrumentalist Nik Pellinen adding banjo, lap steel and electric guitar. Along with bassist Chase Rabideau, who rounds out the bottom, mandolin player Jesse Moravec, who also contributes vocals, fiddle player Evin Haukos, and drummer-percussionist Peter Anderson create a new take on bluegrass-folk-country. It’s a hyphenated hybrid that can come only from a seasoned—and tightly knit—band.

It leaves music fans wanting to hear more as Maygen & The Birdwatcher leap forward this year, and take their original music to the next level.

Maygen & The Birdwatcher have released two single tracks— “Full Moons (Leap Year Session)” and “Jericho” from their forthcoming Leap Year EP available August 2, 2024. Leap Year was recorded by Minnesota native, acclaimed artist and guitarist-extraordinaire, Erik Koskinen.