Our Story
Magic Birds is a Chattanooga, TN-based band made up of Scott Bruce and Ben Ezell. Delivering their own brand of Americana music, the duo blends together elements of classic country, bluegrass and folk, producing a stripped down style of music that exemplifies the sound that has helped shape their lives. Telling stories that they have heard over time, stories they have lived through and stories they have simply imagined, Magic Birds continues to put their heart and soul into the music they create.
Since releasing their debut album, The Music of Benjamin Bruce, in 2015, they have shared the stage with major artists such as Elephant Revival, Milk Carton Kids, Penny & Sparrow, Rhett Miller, Unknown Hinson, Adam Faucett, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Josh Roberts & The Hinges, 49 Winchester, Nathan Bell and Chattanooga legend, Roger Alan Wade. However, their passion for the blossoming Chattanooga music scene has led them to build great relationships with artists of all genres in the Scenic City, and they have had the pleasure of performing alongside their friends on many occasions.
On their sophomore album, Twenty-Three, Magic Birds tapped into the musical genius of Chattanooga, TN's own Nick Lutsko for the production. Keeping true to their Americana style of storytelling and mix of classic country, bluegrass, folk and soul, the direction of this album was to present their newest batch of songs with a full-band sound. With Lutsko at the helm, the band sought out many of their musician friends around Chattanooga to help them accomplish what they were searching for. The album features appearances by Amber Fults, Matt Shigekawa, Dan Pinson, Randy Steele, Deron Stevens, John Boulware, Drew Streip, and of course, Nick Lutsko--and not to mention mastering by Charles Allison and artwork by Steven Ratajczyk. And after many years of tweaking, perfecting and swimming through life's challenges, Twenty-Three was finally presented to the world in August of 2023.
They continue to perform live around the region, growing their fanbase and molding the story of Magic Birds. Their music can be found online just about anywhere you can find music. So if you can't catch them live, find their music, turn it on, turn it up and take a musical journey with Magic Birds!
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Scott Bruce is from Anderson, SC. Ben Ezell is from Marshall, NC. They are the same age and grew up only about 100 miles from each other. However, the two of them didn’t meet until 2012, when Ben was teaching at the same high school as Scott’s wife, Mary. They initially bonded over a conversation of their love for the music of Radiohead, even though the music they would soon find themselves creating together was far from Radiohead-influenced. They decided to get together to ‘jam’, trying to work out a few covers. Soon, they found writing their own songs was easier for them and felt more natural. For them, this natural sound is classified as Americana music. After finishing a few original songs, they started trying them out for friends, leading them to playing various open mic nights around Chattanooga. Even though they got together about once a week, this became their routine over the next two years. Then, in April 2014, Ben moved almost 3 hours away from Chattanooga to Cullman, AL for a new job opportunity. However, Ben and Scott were not done with their music. They had worked too hard and had written too many songs to just throw it all away. This move actually sparked them to make more of this hobby. Soon, they found ways to still get together and continue pursuing this music thing. At this point, they had finished nine original songs and decided to head into the studio with Kan Munson to record. By May 2015, they were ready to launch Magic Birds to the public with the release of “The Music of Benjamin Bruce”. Luckily, their new venture was received well in Chattanooga, especially with the strong support of their friends and family. A few years later, Ben finally made his way back to Chattanooga, which strengthened their sound as they continued performing live around Chattanooga and the surrounding cities, continuing to write new songs, and even adding a few featured players to the mix here and there. Over the years, they worked on recording their second album, Twenty-Three, which was released in 2023. If you have seen them play live, you realize that this is something they both enjoy very much, and they put all of their heart and soul into their music. If you haven’t seen them yet, you should. They play real music for real people....and deep down, we’re all real.