Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham have joined forces for a top-to-bottom cover of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks’ 1973 album Buckingham Nicks. Cleverly titled Cunningham Bird, the project is due out October 18th via Loma Vista Recordings and Verve Forecast. To preview it, the duo have shared two of the record’s songs: “Crying in the Night” and “Crystal.” Stream both covers below.
Buckingham Nicks was the first and only record to come solely from (you guessed it) Buckingham and Nicks, as they both joined Fleetwood Mac in the following year. Today, the album still has yet to hit most streaming services and remains out of print physically, which Bird and Cunningham cite as one of the reasons they became interested in it.
“This buried Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham record found us in a place where we were trying to figure out what we could do together,” Cunningham explained in the press release. “Unfamiliar with it, but excited by its scarcity on streaming platforms, we decided to take it on from front to back, in our own way. It was unsurprising to me how it ended up becoming one of the most creatively satisfying record-making experiences I’ve had, but the unforeseen bonus was how relevant some of those lyrics would be to my own life in the time of making it.”
“It’s hard to listen to Buckingham Nicks’ 1973 debut album without trying to imagine it as a prequel to Fleetwood Mac’s legend,” Bird added. “Yet it’s that youthful ambition and overindulgence that make it fascinating. The best reason to cover anyone is that little part of you that thinks you might do it better. This album epitomizes excess and confidence, and it only made sense to embody that spirit ourselves.”
The two already debuted their version of the songs earlier this year during performances at Newport Folk Festival, Bumbershoot, and The Hollywood Bowl. Now, they’re set to perform the album in its entirety at the same venue Buckingham and Nicks did, The Troubadour in Los Angeles. The show goes down on September 20th, and a limited number of tickets will be available via the artists’ respective newsletters on Friday, September 20th (sign up here). They’ll also perform the set at Infinite Dream Festival and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass.
Cunningham Bird arrives as Bird’s second album of 2024, as the artist released Sunday Morning Put-On (notably, also a covers collection) back in May. Other recent projects from the songwriter include the sister albums Inside Problems and Outside Problems, as well as 2019’s My Finest Work Yet, which guested Cunningham. He also has a handful of 2024 tour dates left; pick up tickets to one of Andrew Bird’s upcoming shows here.
Revisit Cunningham’s Origins breakdown of her single “Subtitles,” as well as our 2022 interview with the artist, where she explores her album Revealer.
Cunningham Bird Artwork:
Cunningham Bird Tracklist:
01. Crying In The Night
02. Stephanie
03. Without A Leg To Stand On
04. Crystal
05. Long Distance Winner
06. Don’t Let Me Down Again
07. Django
08. Races Are Won
09. Lola My Love
10. Frozen
11. Love