Touring is a family affair for JT Nero and Allison Russell, the husband-and-wife duo at the center of the music collective Birds of Chicago. The two hit the road with their 9-month-old daughter Ida Maeve in tow.
The Chicago-based singer-songwriters wouldn’t have it any other way.
“We didn’t have any doubts,” says Russell about taking their daughter on the road. “This is what we know. This is what we do. There was no pressure that we weren’t going to continue to do what we love to do. If anything, it has sharpened our resolve, focus and work ethic.”
On and off stage, Russell and Nero are in sync as partners. They conduct the phone interview by taking turns talking one at a time and handing off the baby to one another.
“This is our normal,” Nero says. “We’re very committed to building a life as a traveling family. At a certain age we’ll want Ida to be at home more and have actual school time. But that’s a few years down the road. Right now we have the opportunity to build this business.
“A big part of this vocation, particularly in the music business climate these days, is establishing a live culture around your music. You’ve got to put in the miles to do that.”
Similar to the husband-and-wife duo Over the Rhine, Birds of Chicago has a warm, organic sound that swings between soulful balladry and up-tempo roots rock. Russell and Nero are striking solo singers who blend in effortless harmony. The group plays Lincoln Hall on Wednesday.
A Midwesterner with strong family ties here, Nero has made his home in the Windy City since 2002. Russell grew up in Montreal and has lived with Nero in Chicago since 2009.
The two met in the early 2000s. Russell was in the roots music group Po’ Girl. Nero was fronting his own band, JT & the Clouds. The two met on the West Coast through mutual acquaintances in the music scene. They crossed paths a number of times and helped their respective bands land gigs. When Po’ Girl came to Chicago on its first Midwest tour, Nero helped book the band at the now-defunct Gunther Murphy’s.
At some point along the way, Russell and Nero began singing together. “There was definitely an alchemy there, just from a harmonic perspective,” Nero recalls. “It was several more years before we got together.”
The two bonded as a couple when Nero went on the road with Po’ Girl for a 2007 European tour. He opened for the group and performed with them onstage.
“We were fighting it pretty hard,” Nero says with a laugh about their burgeoning romantic relationship. “Our music bond was rare. It was so special. Initially we were very antsy about screwing that up. But the feelings didn’t go away.”
In 2010 they committed to carving out a personal and professional life together. The two formed Birds of Chicago in 2012 and married in 2013.
Birds of Chicago has released a self-titled debut and “Live from SPACE,” a concert album recorded in front of hometown fans in the Evanston nightclub. The band plans to go into the studio in February to record new material.
Birds of Chicago is built around Nero and Russell, who are augmented at different times by various musicians. A constant is multi-instrumentalist Chris Merrill. His wife, Suzi Merrill, serves as the band’s road manager and baby wrangler when Nero and Russell are onstage. The group travels in a Ford Econoline van.
Nero and Russell see their extended road family as a major plus when it comes to child rearing.
“There’s this constant, built-in family bubble around Ida, which is really important to us,” Nero says.
Russell says it’s a definite advantage to work with her husband and tour with other helpful adults. As a young mother, she’s never alone in her nomadic music community.
“I feel I’m spoiled as a mom,” she says. “I’m never isolated with my child. Some of my friends have to be on their own, or their partner is away working all the time. They have to find child care and go back to work when their child is really young. There are so many challenging things that people go through to raise their kids. I feel like I have it really easy because the three of us are always together, and we have an amazing team. Ida is always surrounded by several loving adults. That’s huge.”
For her part, little Ida has adjusted well to the road warrior’s life.
“Ida knows her way around a hotel room now,” laughs Nero. “We can babyproof it real quick every night.”
Birds of Chicago spends roughly 10 months a year on the road, playing nightclubs, festivals, theaters, pubs and living rooms across the United States and Europe. Russell and Nero say the key to success and career longevity is connecting with a live audience. In the brave new world of the music business, bands must tour to make money.
“We were at a festival and heard Lucinda Williams say you can’t survive without touring now,” Russell says. “In the past you could. There are a lot of people who don’t love to tour, and I feel the worst for those artists. When you’re willing to tour, you don’t make a killing, but you can make a living. We’re so grateful to be supporting ourselves doing something we love.”
The two see the gig at Lincoln Hall as a homecoming. Then it’s back on the road for a run of dates. They’ll return in late December to celebrate Ida’s first birthday at home in the Windy City.
“Chicago is the rock for sure,” says Nero about the traveling family’s home base. “It’s the anchor. I don’t see that changing.”
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When: 8 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Lincoln Hall, 2424 N Lincoln Ave.
Tickets: $20; 773-525-2501 or lincolnhallchicago.com
