The Foo Birds are Kate Lister (vocals), Joe Shaw (drums, percussion), Charlie Nash (bass), Alex Hill (keys) and Dan Abrahams (guitar). They have been writing, touring and eating together for over a decade.
Originally brought together in Edinburgh circa 2011 via a student-run Michael Jackson tribute gig, their common appreciation for everything from Miles Davis and D’Angelo to The Red Hot Chili Peppers sparked an unmatchable union and a weekly ritual of cramming into tiny (but cheap) university practice rooms. They soon made a home at the city’s infamous Jazz Bar, where they regularly pulled in loyal followers from all corners of the UK with their funk-infused dancefloor fillers and clandestine post-gig lock-ins. Since then, the now London-based 5-piece have taken their signature in-the-pocket, move-your-body, soulful sound on tours across the UK and Europe, with gigs in Belgium & Croatia. Festival appearances include headline slots at Kelburn Garden Party, Fife Jazz Festival & Tinderbox Fest and they have also been celebrated on Jazz FM, Worldwide FM & BBC Radio Scotland.
Various love stories and side-hustles in engineering, AI research, medicine, yoga teaching & touring the world pulled The Foo Birds in various geographical locations between 2014 and 2018, yet never to the detriment of the group’s tight friendship or the commitment to making great music. They got about a bit in that time and, between them, have also performed and recorded with Pee Wee Ellis (James Brown, Van Morrison), John Helliwell (Supertramp), Children of Zeus, Lovescene, Wayward Jane & Dowally.
In 2021, the group drew on these new influences and experiences (mostly the love stories, in truth) to record six new tracks with engineer Robin Wynn Evans (Sam Brown, Manic Street Preachers, The View) at Tpot Studios in Perth. Returning with a sound more mature in its depth and skill, yet just as universally engaging as their 2011 musical leanings (think Corinne Bailey Rae, Norah Jones & Lake Street Dive), the tracks have been exquisitely produced by Robin Mullarkey (Jacob Collier, Natalie Williams), and feature lush string and horn arrangements by talented friends Harry Fausing Smith (Tom Misch) and Jonny Murray & Dan Berry (Mr Jukes, Bombay Bicycle Club).
