Road Report: The Mynabirds Wrap Up Their First U.S. Tour

The Mynabirds have just wrapped heir first official U.S. tour in support of their debut album, 'What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood.' The soulful, 60s-influenced record is the solo effort from former Georgie James member Laura Burhenn.

Burhenn recaps the last few shows of their U.S. run, including stops in Austin, Dallas and Omaha. She recounts saying goodbye to Josh Ritter, and their last performance of the tour where they shared the stage with Mumford and Sons. Read her personal thoughts and flip through the last of the band's photos from the road after the jump.

Apparently it wouldn't be a proper Mynabirds tour without another tornado run-in, which is what Kansas would bring us on our last day on the road. But before we get there, we have to go back a bit to Austin...

Austin was our next incredible stop after Baton Rouge. While the Mynabirds hadn't properly toured before, we did go down to SXSW this spring. I've spent quite a bit of time in Austin (with Georgie James and just for fun). It's one of my favorite U.S. cities. And it didn't disappoint a bit this visit. We had a sweet morning radio session at KUT with John Aielli followed by lunch with dear DJ friend Shiv, a purely coincidental run-in with old Georgie James bandmate John Davis (the world is so incredibly small and interconnected), and an afternoon swim at Barton Springs.


Our show at Antone's was just amazing. We followed it with a late night of whiskey drinking at the East Side Showroom. They had a great gypsy band that fit perfectly in their speakeasy-feel room. One of my dearest high school friends was there with me. I had a flashback to being 15, driving together an hour-and-a-half down to the 9:30 club in D.C. to see the Squirrel Nut Zippers. I looked at him and said, "Everything changes and nothing changes." And he said, "I know exactly what you mean." There's something about that sentiment I can't quite explain better. But being in a room with a good friend half a life later felt great. If you've ever had that experience -- meeting up with someone years after you last saw them and feeling like you're picking up right where you left off -- you know what I mean.

The next night was our last night with Josh Ritter. It was amazingly fun and perfect, but a little bittersweet. We were only just getting started! I flew a kite with Liam, Josh's drummer, in the parking lot behind the Granada Theater in Dallas, then we all drank "bus margaritas" and watched Obama's address to the nation before taking the stage. The Granada is such a special place -- amazing staff and just a beautiful old theater whose grandeur has been lovingly preserved. I just love to play in spaces like that. After joining Josh onstage for his final song one last time, hugging and saying our hope-to-see-you-again-real-soons to Josh and all his crew, we headed north towards home.

The final day of our tour was originally supposed to be a marathon drive from Dallas to Omaha, but we added one last show in Kansas City with Mumford & Sons. It's only a 3 hour drive from there back to Omaha, so we figured we could make a late arrival of it after the show. The day started out perfectly: blue skies, high clouds, speckled fields of cattle as far as you could see. And just as soon as I said, "Except for that one tornado in Ohio, we've had really great weather," the sky ahead turned black as night and the radio called out more tornado warnings. Wouldn't you just know it. Thankfully no funnel clouds pulled down from the heavens. We even got a rainbow before the torrential rains poured down. The Record Bar in KC was another amazing venue with a sweet staff. And Mumford & Sons killed it. They deserve every ounce of hype they've been given. Besides that, they're sweethearts. Turns out we have some mutual friends (again, how small and interconnected this world is). It was the perfect final show of the tour.

By the time we said our goodbyes, it was incredibly late. After three hours on the highway, some more time dropping everyone off at their homes, I pulled into my driveway at 5:30 in the morning. The sky was growing light as the sun neared the horizon and a distant thunderstorm flickered with slivers of lightning in the folds of its clouds. I collapsed into bed, but had the hardest time sleeping -- so many good memories and thoughts of things to come. Can't wait for the west coast tour in July...

See you out west so soon!

xo
Laura