Picnic in the Park
Folk duo Beat Root Revival to play at Taos event
Andrea Magee’s life is a whirlwind right now.
There’s always something new when she’s working on an album. “We just finished a radio show,” she says in a recent interview. “Then we’re off to prepare for the night’s show.”
Magee is one-half of the folk duo Beat Root Revival. The other member of the pair is Ben Jones. The two will perform at the Taos Picnic in the Park, which takes place today with performances by Lake
Street Dive and Jake Shimabukuro.
For the past eight months, the duo has been working with legendary producer Paul Leary on new tracks for the album.
The collaboration was set up through Beat Root Revival’s label.
“Paul has worked on so many iconic albums, it was great to see him put his touch on our music,” Magee says. “He wanted to capture the essence of what we do live. In our organic way, it came together and we were all able to make it sparkle.”
Jones and Magee are originally from England and Ireland and moved to the United States a few years go.
With just a guitar, a bodhran and a hunger in their harmonies and songs, they made Austin, Texas, their adopted home, and they have developed an evergrowing fan base gigging regularly while writing prolifically.
When they started playing together, the pair often tried writing together, and it worked out.
Their writing has evolved, and Magee says she and Jones try to write at least one song collectively for each album..
“I think my writing has been personally driven and I can take inspiration from everything,” she says. “I’ll find a way of navigating it into my own world. When we first started as a duo, we were dating as well. We work way better as a musical duo. We devoted ourselves in how to transition into this professional relationship. We communicate so well now.”
The album, expected to be released in the fall, will be titled “Up.”