Go ahead and file Yosemite National Park as perhaps the most idyllic place in the world to hear impeccable folk songs. That surreal vision is now a reality with Andrew Bird and Iron & Wine’s latest “Play For The Parks” live session for La Blogothèque and Lucky Brand. The pair each star in their own two-song set on and near Yosemite’s magical Tenaya Lake and get a little help from each other in the process.
On “Manifest,” Bird begins on violin beneath the redwoods, which he then plays like a ukulele before breaking into his signature whistle and being joined by Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam on guitar. The pair sing in harmony while strolling through the redwood grove with rolled up jeans (Lucky Brand, of course) and step into the ankle deep crystalline water of the lake to finish off the song.
“No photograph can prepare a person for the scale and beauty of Yosemite, it was my first visit and I was completely overwhelmed!” Beam said of the session. “What a blessing to be able to spend it making music with Andrew Bird — and ankle deep in water to boot!”
The session is a benefit, that includes a $25,000 donation towards national parks preservation. There’s also a contest fans can enter where winners can win anything from Taylor acoustic guitars, vinyl records, a $500 Lucky Brand gift card and even framed maps of Yosemite signed by Bird and Beam.
While this was the first collaboration between the pair, they already have a show in store for next June at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado and more in store.
Check out the performances above.
