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The Étude Sessions Presents: Birds of Chicago

Featured on NPRs World Cafe with a live session recorded at Chicagos WBEZ studio, Birds of Chicago draws heavily on the gospel tradition and creates music that feels like a new, secular gospel of sorts.

For Birds of Chicago, every word counts. Every note counts. No gold-dusting, no filler. Music is the good news and Real Midnight, the bands poignant new Joe Henryproduced album, throbs with an urgency that feels quietly seismic.

Birds of Chicago was born in 2012 when Nero began writing for his vocal star-muse, Russell. Both were accomplished singer/songwriters with projects of their own, Nero with JT and the Clouds and Russell with the acclaimed Canadian roots outfit Po Girl, but together there was an unmistakable chemistry. Nero had found the perfect voice for his rock and roll psalms. Russell moved from being a primary songwriter to an interpreter, and her simmering restraint is deeply refreshing to a landscape scorched by post Voice/American Idol vocal gymnastics and over-emoting.

Proceeds from The Étude Sessions support The Étude Group's Expanding Horizons program. This program provides students with opportunities beyond the walls of their classrooms. It provides experiences and resources that empower students and encourage them to think about how their current work relates to life beyond school. It provides funding for field experiences, creative and professional residencies in the schools, student publications, college readiness programs, and expanded engineering and robotics programming. These are just a few of the programs funded to make experiences accessible to all students in the Étude schools, 80% of whom are first generation college students and over 50% of whom qualify for free or reduced lunch.

The Étude Sessions honor Troy Tousey, founder of Open Mind Studios of Sheboygan, WI and founding board member and advocate of The Étude Group. Troy was an avid community supporter and a passionate live music fan. He dreamed of creating a vibrant music scene in Sheboygan to benefit the community, the music, and The Étude Group schools. Troy was killed in a bicycle accident in June 2012. His wife Marci and two children still make their home in Sheboygan and share their support and passion for both The Étude Group and The Étude Sessions.