Line-up

Venue

Dakota

1010 Nicollet Mall, 55403, Minneapolis, MN, US

dakotacooks.com/

Capacity: 250

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Additional details

Tour name: Inara George (of the bird and the bee)

Doors open: 19:00

Inara George is a Los Angeles–based singer and songwriter whose voice and musicality move easily between pop, folk, and jazz. Best known as one half of The Bird and the Bee with Grammy-winning producer Greg Kurstin, and as a member of The Living Sisters, she has built a rich and varied career that spans acclaimed solo work, collaborations with Van Dyke Parks and Michael Andrews, and performances at venues ranging from the Hollywood Bowl and Carnegie Hall to beloved Los Angeles clubs like Largo and the Troubadour. Her latest release, Songs of Douglass and Littell, revisits music written years ago by her friends and longtime collaborators Philip Littell and Eliot Douglass. The album offers a fresh interpretation of their work—one that veers into new territory for George as she dives more deeply into jazz-inspired phrasing, harmony, and mood than ever before. Yet these interpretations fit seamlessly within the arc of her broader catalog, reflecting the same warmth, wit, and melodic imagination that define her earlier work. In performance, the music from Songs of Douglass and Littell feel like a natural extension of the voice and sensibility that have long been at the heart of her sound.

Concert in your area for Indie & Alt, Folk & Blues, and Pop.

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The Bird and the Bee biography

The Bird and the Bee (formed in 2006) is a Los Angeles, California-based jazz and indie-pop duo comprised of Inara George (the bird) and Greg Kurstin (the bee).

Inara George and Greg Kurstin met during the production of George’s debut album “All Rise” in 2005. Discovering a shared love for classic jazz numbers, the two began playing together and ultimately writing and recording together. Known for his production and keyboard work, Kurstin has worked with the artists Lily Allen, Kylie Minogue, Beck, The Flaming Lips and the Red Hot Chili Pepper, and is member of the alternative rock band Geggy Tah. The first fruit of the duo’s collaboration was the four-track EP “Again and Again and Again and Again” issued by Blue Note Records in October 2006. The record spawned the single “Fucking Boyfriend”, which became the No. 1 Billboard Hot Dance Club Play single and earned a remix from electronic musician Peaches.

The duo’s debut self-titled full-length arrived in January 2007 to positive reviews from the critical press. The record was supported by a tour opening for English singer Lily Allen and was proceeded by the Christmas single “Carol for the Bells” in November 2007. With the increased exposure afforded the group, they released the EPs “Please Clap Your Hands” in 2006 “One Too Many Hearts” in 2008 – to coincide with Valentine’s day. Both were released by Blue Note, with the latter four-track EP featuring the Billy Rose penned standard “Tonight You Belong to Me”.

The Bird and the Bee’s sophomore full-length “Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future” arrived in 2009 spawning the singles “Love Letter to Japan”, “My Love”, and “Diamond Dave”. Once again earning favourable reviews the record charted at No. 78 on the Billboard 200 and topped the Billboard Heatseekers chart. To promote the album George and Kurstin appeared on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” and ABC’s "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", and embarked on a 10-date national tour. A compilation of Hall & Oates covers entitled “Interpreting he Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates” was issued in March 2010. A second Christmas single “Wishes” arrived in 2011, followed by a collaboration with the National’s Matt Berninger for the 2014 “Endless Love” soundtrack entitled “All Our Endless Love”.

Live reviews

The Bird and The Bee, as the name suggests, are a musical duo, from Los Angeles. They make indie pop. They formed in 2006, but in recent years, they’ve probably been overshadowed by the incredibly impressive work that Greg Kurstin - ‘the bee’ - has been doing elsewhere; just this year alone, he’s produced records by Sia, Lily Allen and Lykke Lu, and his other recent work involves sitting behind the desks for albums including The Shins’ Port of Morrow, Katy Perry’s Prism and the album that, for my money, is the finest pop record for many a long year, Heartthrob by Tegan and Sara. Accordingly, his busy schedule elsewhere has curtailed his work with ‘the bird’ Inara George, with their last original album, Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future, dropping in early 2009. They haven’t toured since 2010, when they released a Hall and Oates cover album, but when they did, it was actually Kurstin who took a back seat; relegated largely to instrumental duty, George instead was front and centre, an alluringly energetic performer who’s sheer vocal flexibility really has to be seen to be believed; she sounds as good on stage as on record, so hope for some UK dates when Kurstin finally finds time away from acting as super-producer.

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