Welcome

Thank you for visiting the official website for Magic Birds, 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 style of music that exemplifies the sound that has helped shape their lives. Check out the site, see where the next performance will be and take a listen to a few tunes. Hope you like what you hear!

Back at it again! 

After months and months of constant touring, we took some much needed time off to spend quality time with our families. Now that our kids remember what we look like, we are back at it again with a slew of new shows. It all starts this Saturday 9/30 at The Rooftop Hop in downtown Chattanooga. And while you are here, please check out all of our upcoming shows. We hope to see your smiling face at a few of them! Oh, and we may even have a handful of new songs for you to hear.....

At Barking Legs we will be..... 

For our next 2 shows, we will find ourselves at one of our favorite Chattanooga venues; Barking Legs Theater. First, we are so excited that we were asked to be a part of Nathan Bell's CD Release Party on Sat 7/15. His new album Love>Fear (48 hours in traitorland) is out now and it is fantastic. Here's one of our favorite songs on the album, just to get you warmed up for the celebration: Raise Your Fist. Next, we will be back at Barking Legs on Sat 8/5 for another installation of our songwriters in the round showcase. This one is going to be a doozy, as we have some awesome Chattanooga area songwriters lined up for your listening pleasure. Check out the details here

We hope to see you out at our shows, and keep checking back to this site because we will be performing at some popular Chattanooga events in Sep & Oct and we should be announcing those very soon!

Playing tunes in the month of June.... 

We have a couple of great shows lined up for June.

First, we'll be performing on Wed 6/7 at Waterhouse Pavilion in downtown Chattanooga as part of Noon Tunes concert series. This is the 2nd year of Noon Tunes and we are honored to be selected to the lineup this year. And yes, the show is at noon....as in the middle of the day....so take your lunch break with us!

Next, we will be performing at Puckett's on Fri 6/16 for the first time, which we are very excited about. This will be right toward the end of the Riverbend stretch. If Riverbend isn't your thing, then come hang out with us. If you are at Riverbend, but tired and hungry, then come hang out with us. Either way, we'll be taking the stage at 9pm!

For more details about our upcoming dates, visit our shows page....and we hope to see you in the crowd!

April showers of shows! 

Ok....maybe only 3, but that is a lot for us in 1 month, and they are 3 shows that we are very excited about! 

First, we are opening for Aaron Lee Tasjan at JJ's Bohemia on Friday 4/7. If you haven't heard of him yet, you should check him out. His new album Silver Tears on New West Records is really good. Here's one of our favorites; Memphis Rain.

Then on Sat 4/22, we will be at Clyde's on Main for the first time, sharing the stage with our SC buddies, Josh Roberts & The Hinges. This band knows how to rock-n-roll....and they are some really good people too. Scott and Josh go way back, so expect some late night collaborations of some sort!

And finally, we are honored that we were asked to return to the National Cornbread Festival for a 2nd straight year. We are playing on Sat 4/29, so come hang out with us and do the cornbread sampling....it will all be worth it, trust us!

We hope to see you out at a show or 2...or 3!

Check out all of our upcoming shows here.

2017 update.... 

Yeah, we know...we've been a little quiet since the end of 2016. Well, we took a little time off during the winter months, but now we are back in the studio working on a new record, this time with our good buddy, the talented Mr. Nick Lutsko. We are excited for you to hear what we are creating together and we hope to have a teaser for you very soon! 

In the meantime, we have another exciting installment of our Scenic City Showcase coming back to Barking Legs Theater on Saturday 3/4. This is gonna be another great one, featuring more very talented songwriters from Chattanooga, and our first one on a Saturday night! Also, look for another show announcement soon for April....one we are very excited about as well....you'll know soon!

We hope to see you out and about!

New Merchandise for the Holidays! 

We are happy to release our brand new t-shirts, just in time for the holidays. Head over to our STORE and see the awesome, new design that we have available in multiple colors!

Songwriters in the Round returns! 

We've had a blast hosting the Songwriters in the Round series this year from Scenic City Showcase, sharing the stage with some incredible Chattanooga musicians. We are excited to do this one more time before the year ends on Thursday, December 1, and this lineup is just as special as the others. Come see Magic Birds, along with Lon Eldridge, Marty & Matt Bohannon, Charles Allison and Courtney Holder in a stripped down setting, sharing stories behind some of our songs and performing in the intimate setting of Barking Legs Theater. See our SHOWS page for more details.

Back to the Mill! 

We had the pleasure of performing at Ketner’s Mill Country Arts Fair last year and we are proud that we have been asked to come back this year. If you haven't been before, you should check out this festival. It is a lot of fun for the entire family and the setting is one of a kind. See their website at www.ketnersmill.org.

We are performing at 2pm Eastern on Saturday, Oct 15th. We will be at the tent stage inside the fair, near the big food barn. Get there earlier in the day for our buddy Ryan Oyer, and stay after us to see our friends in Caney Creek Company. Should be a fun day!

Putting on your hopping shoes! 

The Rooftop Hop is happening in Chattanooga this Saturday 9/24 and Magic Birds will be performing all night long on the roof of our good friends from RootsRated. This is the 5th annual Hop, put on by the fine folks at green | spaces. There is still time to snatch a ticket, so go do that and then hop on over to RootsRated and hang out with us!

Thu 8/4 @ the Hunter Museum 

We are honored to be performing live at the Hunter Museum on Thu 8/4 as part of their All American Summer Concert Series. This is an early 'happy hour' show that starts at 6pm, so make sure you head straight over from work. The Hunter folks were also kind enough to work with us on this promotional video for the show...hope you enjoy Feeling Low!

Previous events

Mar2

Magic Birds @ McGee's Irish Pub

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McGee's Irish Pub, 116 W Orr St, Anderson, SC

We had such a great time in Anderson for our album release party back in August that we already have a return date on the calendar at McGee's Irish Pub! You have plenty of time to secure your table reservations and make plans to join Magic Birds back in Scott's old stomping grounds, for what is sure to be another fun night!!

Feb2

Back to Cherry Street in February!! We love this place and the people that run it, and we cannot wait to share the stage with our friends Lew Card and The Briars for a full night of Americana music! Doors at 7pm and The Briars will get the night started at 8pm, followed by Magic Birds (with Lew Card on mandolin) and then a full set of Lew Card with his band. This is going to be a lot of fun, so go ahead and make your plans to have fun with us all!!

Jan12

We are beyond honored to be asked to be a part of the Lookout Wild Film Festival for a 2nd year in a row. For over ten years, the Lookout Wild Film Festival has brought the best outdoor adventure and conservation films from around the world to Chattanooga for one awesome weekend. This year, the festival will take place at the Walker Theatre (located downtown inside the Memorial Auditorium) from Thursday, January 11th through Sunday, January 14th.

On Friday, January 12th, the doors open at at 6pm, and Magic Birds will be onstage entertaining the festival goers as they enter the theatre for the night's showings between 6:15-7pm. The film showings begin at 7pm, and then around 8:30pm, we will take the stage once again and entertain during the intermission.

Like we mentioned, it is such an honor to be a part of such a cool event that continues to wow Chattanooga each year. If you haven't been before, we invite you to come out and hear a little Magic Birds and sit back and enjoy the incredible films with us!

Jan11

Magic Birds @ The Mill at Crown Garden

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The Mill at Crown Garden, 825 Chattanooga Avenue, Dalton, GA 30720

We are happy to say that we are adding Dalton, GA to our regular rotation. After 2 shows right down the road in GA, we have found that fine folks of Dalton love them some Magic Birds, and we couldn't be more appreciative!! So to show our love, we will try our best to keep coming back! To start the year off, we will be visiting a new space--The Mill at Crown Gardens--an old textile mill that has been transformed into a beautiful multi-purpose destination with retail, restaurants, and on Thursday 1/11, live music from Magic Birds!!

Jan6

We are very excited to be headed back to The Woodshop, and this time we will be teaming up with our buddies from The Foothills for this show! After the hustle and bustle of the holidays, what better way to wind down than with an intimate, chill show in one of Chattanooga's best listening rooms. Doors at 7pm, The Foothills will go on at 8pm and then Magic Birds will close out the night beginning around 9:15pm.

$7 in advance / $10 at the door

Dec8

Magic Birds + T.J. Greever + Lew Card @ Doc Holidays

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Doc Holidays Bar & Grill, 742 Ashland Terrace, Chattanooga, TN

We are headed back to our favorite 'Five Star Dive Bar' one last time before the year ends. But we are turning up the heat for this one and adding some good buddies to the mix! Lew Card is gonna start the night off at 8pm, followed by a set by T.J. Greever. Then, Magic Birds will close out the night, with both Lew and T.J. sitting in with us for some tunes. We will play until at least 11pm, but you should get there early because we are planning to pack the house for this one. This is gonna be a great time so come hang out with us!

Dec2

Magic Birds @ MAINx24

Slick's Burgers, 309 E Main Street, Chattanooga, TN

We are making our way back to Chattanooga's 24 hour holiday festival on Main Street!! Once again this year, we will be taking part of the MAINx24 festivities at Slick's, and boy, do they have a lineup planned for you this year:

Cosmic Strangers - Noon-2pm, Skip Cisto Band - 2:30-4:30pm, Magic Birds - 5-7pm, The NEW Quintet - 7:30-9:30pm

We had a blast at Slick's last year, so come hang out with us again this year! Tasty burgers, refreshing drinks and tunes galore!

Dec1

Magic Birds @ Dalton Brewing Company

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Dalton Brewing Company, 112 W King Street, Dalton, GA 30720

We ventured down to Dalton a few months ago, and we all had so much fun, that we are headed back to DBC on December 1st! If you missed us last time, go ahead and mark your calendar now. If you came out to see us last time, let's do it again! They have the tasty beverages, and we will bring the tasty tunes!

Oct21

Magic Birds @ Ketner's Mill Country Arts Fair

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Ketner's Mill, 658 Ketner Mill Lane, Whitwell, TN 37397

Our favorite fall festival is just around the corner and we have been asked to come back and perform this year! If you haven't made the short drive from Chattanooga over to Whitwell for this family-friendly fall festival, well then this is the year to change that. And if you have been, you're probably like us and go back for the festivities every year you can. Either way, we love Ketner's Mill and we cannot wait to play some songs for you again this year! We go on at 2:15pm Eastern and will play for an hour, so come hang out with us!

Oct20

Magic Birds @ Yellowhammer Brewing

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Yellowhammer Brewing, 2600 Clinton Avenue W, Huntsville, AL 35805

We are dipping our toes into Alabama and what better place to start than Yellowhammer Brewing in Huntsville, AL! They have plethora of tasty brews, a wonderful facility, delicious food coming from their conjoined partner, Earth & Stone Pizza, and an amazing outdoor area with a stage that we cannot wait to perform on. If you have friends in the Huntsville area, please tell them to come hang out with us. And if you are in for a road trip, Huntsville is not too far away! This one should be a lot of fun....

Oct19

Magic Birds @ Fireside Outdoor Concert Series

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Greenway Farm, 5051 Gann Store Road, Hixson, TN 37343

Mark your calendars!! We'll be performing at the annual October concert series at Greenway Farm on Thu 10/19 from 7-9pm. We cannot wait for this one and feel very honored wo be a part of this series with such other great artists! Here's a little more about the concert series: Fireside Outdoor Concert Series is a free, outdoor concert series that began in 2011 with the simple concept of getting families to come out to a local park, unplug from technology and listen to live music gathered around a fire! All ages are invited to enjoy an evening in a rustic setting to listen to live local music gathered around a couple of small campfires behind the reconstructed 1850’s Sniteman Cabin, which is located at the back of the park behind the gardens. Bring your blankets and chairs, marshmallow roasting sticks, maybe pack a picnic and definitely bring your dancing shoes!

Sep15

Magic Birds @ Doc Holidays

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Doc Holidays Bar & Grill, 742 Ashland Terrace, Chattanooga, TN

We are headed back to our favorite 'Five Star Dive Bar' and this time we are bringing our good buddy T.J. Greever along for the fun! If you haven't made it out to see us perform at Doc's, then this is your chance. We always have a great crowd and a great time and the folks at Doc's know how to treat you like you are at home--drinks ready before you even have to ask, and the food....the food! We could go on and on but come out and see for yourself. We will go on at 8pm and play until around 11pm. And we are gonna have a blast with or without you, but we prefer you join us!!

Aug19

Magic Birds Album Release Show

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McGee's Scot Irish Pub, 116 W Orr Street, Anderson, SC 29625

We are finally releasing our sophomore album, "Twenty-Three", and we are headed back to Scott's old stomping grounds for our SC album release show! This will be a free show and we will be performing from 7-10pm, so go ahead and make plans to come hang out with us and celebrate an album release that has been a very LONG time coming! We will have CDs, vinyl and some other new merch to go along with the good times--can't wait to see you there!!

Aug18

Magic Birds Album Release Show

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Mars Theatre Brewing Company, 70 N Main Street, Mars Hill, NC 28754

We are finally releasing our sophomore album, "Twenty-Three", and we are headed back to Ben's old stomping grounds for our NC album release show! This will be a free show and we will be performing from 6-9pm, so go ahead and make plans to come hang out with us and celebrate an album release that has been a very LONG time coming! We will have CDs, vinyl and some other new merch to go along with the good times--can't wait to see you there!!

Aug12

Magic Birds Album Release Event

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Yellow Racket Records / Barque BBQ, 2311 E Main Street, Chattanooga, TN 37404

We are teaming up with our friends from both Yellow Racket Records and Barque BBQ on Main Street in Chattanooga for an album release event to celebrate the release of our new album, "Twenty-Three". This will be a daytime event from 12-3pm and Magic Birds will be onsite at Yellow Racket Records with copies of their new album on CD and Vinyl, along with other new merchandise to celebrate the release. Meet the band members, listen to them perform a few songs off of the new album live and enjoy amazing lunch specials next door at BARQUE BBQ!

Aug11

Magic Birds Album Release Show

Cherry Street Tavern, 719 Cherry Street, Chattanooga, TN

We are finally releasing our sophomore album, "Twenty-Three", and we are celebrating with an album release show ay Cherry Street Tavern! Doors at 8:30pm, $10 cover and the night will kick off at 9:30pm with a full set from our wonderfully talented friend, Amber Fults. After that, Magic Birds will perform 2 full sets. In the first set, we will perform the new album in full, which will include many guest appearances from our friends that helped make this album happen--Amber Fults, Matt Shigekawa, Randy Steele, Nick Lutsko and possibly some others. We will finish the night with a final set with old Magic Birds songs, new songs that haven't been recorded yet and some of our favorite covers! Go ahead and make plans to come hang out with us and celebrate an album release that has been a very LONG time coming! We will have CDs, vinyl and other new merch to go along with the good times--can't wait to see you there!!

Jul28

We are very excited to make it back on the lineup for the 2023 Nightfall Concert Series. On Fri 7/28, we will be taking the stage at 7pm, warming it up Joshua Hedley! If you are not familiar with his music, you should definitely check him out--he is one of the ones that is carrying the torch for real country music and we could not be more excited about sharing the stage with him. This is free event and we go on at 7pm and will play for about 45 minutes. Don't miss our set because we have some special tricks up our sleeve for this one!!

Jun23

Magic Birds @ Dalton Brewing Company

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Dalton Brewing Company, 112 W King Street, Dalton, GA 30720

We are heading down the road to Dalton for the first time! We've had friends and family from Dalton come to see us perform in Chattanooga before so we are so excited to bring the tunes to them this time. Right in the heart of downtown Dalton, we will be serving up the sounds from 7-9pm while the fine folks from Dalton Brewing Company serve up the cold ones! Mark your calendar and come hang out with us!

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