The Stray Birds

The Stray Birds

The Stray Birds are an American folk and americana group from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, active from 2010 to 2018. The line-up centres on Maya de Vitry, Oliver Bates Craven and Charles Muench; the group first begins as an acoustic duo before becoming a trio.

Formation and sound

Maya de Vitry and Oliver Craven first perform together in January 2010, after growing up within a few miles of each other in Lancaster County. Their early collaboration leads to the seven-song Borderland EP. The group’s sound is built around three-part harmony, acoustic instruments and a close link to American folk traditions. Their performances move between street-corner busking and concert-hall settings, with an emphasis on live interaction and songcraft.

Members and backgrounds

Oliver Craven starts on classical violin, then performs fiddle with the Craven Family Band, whose repertoire includes folk, bluegrass and country songs, including originals by his father. After high school he turns down football scholarships, takes up mandolin and guitar, and studies at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he focuses on African American literature and history while also writing and recording original songs. He later leaves university to continue learning on the road. He also spends two years as a harmony vocalist, fiddler and guitarist for Americana artist Adrienne Young, and one year with The Steel Wheels.

Maya de Vitry first performs in kindergarten, singing and playing guitar in a show-and-tell presentation. She studies piano with her grandmother and fiddle with her father, while also taking public school violin lessons. Family trips to the Appalachian String Band Music Festival in West Virginia form part of her musical background. She studies for a year and a half at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she works with Mark Simos, Darol Anger and John McGann. Before that, she begins at the University of North Carolina at Asheville but leaves after one semester. During travels through Europe as a fiddling street performer, she starts listening to Townes Van Zandt with new attention, which shapes her interest in songwriting.

Charles Muench, the group’s bassist, begins bass lessons through a public elementary school string programme, inspired by his father, who plays bass. He later earns a music education degree from West Chester University. He also develops harmony singing through weekly bluegrass gatherings at a nearby horse farm. The band describes his playing as providing a strong rhythmic base for the trio.

Releases and recognition

The group’s Borderland EP appears from the first year of collaboration, and the band releases its debut full-length album on 21 July 2012. Maya de Vitry receives national recognition for songwriting, including fourth place in the 2011 Telluride Troubadour Competition and third place in the BMI/John Lennon Scholarship Awards.

Performance history

The Stray Birds tour extensively and play in honky-tonks, folk festivals and listening rooms. Oliver Craven’s experience includes performances in forty states and four countries, reflecting the group’s road-based approach to music-making.