Andrew Bird is an internationally acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, whistler and songwriter who picked up his first violin at the age of four and spent his formative years soaking up classical repertoire completely by ear. As a teen Bird became interested in a variety of styles including early jazz, country blues and folk music, synthesizing them into his unique brand of pop. Since beginning his recording career in 1997 Bird has released 13 albums and performed several hundred concerts worldwide. He has recorded with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, appeared as "Dr. Stringz" on "Jack's Big Music Show," and headlined concerts at Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House, and festivals worldwide. Mojo Magazine declared him "simply incredible live." In recent years he performed as the Whistling Caruso in Disney's "The Muppets" movie, scored the FX series "Baskets," and collaborated with inventor Ian Schneller on Sonic Arboretum, an installation that exhibited at New York's Guggenheim Museum, Boston's ICA and the MCA Chicago. Bird has been a featured Ted Talk presenter, a New York Times op-ed contributor, and is an advocate for Everytown for Gun Safety. Additionally, Bird hosts an ongoing Facebook Live series of performances called Live From The Great Room, putting the creative process on display for fans as he performs and converses with friends and collaborators in a candid, intimate setting. Bird is currently working on a series of site-specific improvisational short films and recordings called Echolocations, recorded in remote and acoustically interesting spaces- a remote Utah canyon, an abandoned seaside bunker, the middle of the Los Angeles River, and a reverberant tile covered aqueduct in Lisbon. His most recent studio album, Are You Serious, was released April 1st, 2016 on Loma Vista Recordings. Andrew Bird appears as part of the Breckenridge International Festival of Arts, which runs Aug 10–19, 2018. Doors: 7 pm Neyla Pekarek Rattlesnake is a show inspired by the life of Colorado pioneer woman Rattlesnake Kate, who was infamous in the 1920’s for her death defying encounter with a rattlesnake migration. This collection of songs was written as a Folk Opera, recounting stories from her life, extracted from a 40-year love letter correspondence she kept with Colonel Charles D. Randolph, aka Buckskin Bill. Neyla Pekarek began playing cello at age 9 in her native city of Denver, Colorado. She studied Musical Theatre and earned a degree in Music Education at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, CO. Back in Denver while searching for a teaching position, she answered a Craigslist ad for a local folk band needing a cello player. This band was The Lumineers, and she soon became a core member of the group, playing on their GRAMMY-nominated self-titled debut and follow-up album and performing on every continent (except Antarctica!). Neyla is a member of Sweet Adelines International, a women’s barbershop quartet organization, and she won the 2009 Rising Star championship with her quartet, Vogue. When not making music, Neyla enjoys collecting rubber stamps, true crime TV, and spending time with her pet bunny rabbit, Barbara. She’s currently working on a studio album of Rattlesnake.