Austin Birdy is a Drummer and Percussionist from San Antonio, Texas. Since moving north, he has performed hundreds of concerts and productions in the Northeast area. In venues like Carnegie Hall, Proctors Theatre (Schenectady), The Strand Theatre (Boston), Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center (Vermont), Magic Hat stage at The Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion, The Cape Playhouse, 54 Below, Symphony Space, and The Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He has also made music with groups like the Brockton Symphony Orchestra, MassOpera, Huntington Theatre Company, Mid-Atlantic Symphony, Boston Theater Company, NYU Tisch, Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble, and The Boston Ballet School.

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Over his 13 years of playing musical theatre, Austin has covered the drum or percussion role in over 50 Youth, College, Community, Regional, or Off-Broadway productions, including an equity production at Boston's Tony Award-winning Huntington Theater Company.  Austin has worked under accomplished directors and production designers like Michael Greif (Rent, Dear Evan Hansen), and Tony Award Honoree Michael McElroy (Next to Normal, The Who's Tommy), for the 42-show run of Man in The Ring by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award recipient Michael Cristofer (The Shadow Box, The Witches of Eastwick, Mr. Robot). This summer Austin played drums and served as assistant music director for 22 shows of  Jersey Boys at The Cape Playhouse under the direction of Joyce Chittick (Cabaret, Beautiful: The Carol King Musical, Grease). Also under the baton of Lidiya Yankovskaya (Chicago Opera Theatre) for the workshop of Freedom Ride by Dan Shore before it's 2020 Chicago Opera premiere, and with seven-time Emmy Award winner Mark Salzman on the 2018 Boston workshop of his new musical Another Roll of The Dice. Austin has also assisted with music direction and orchestration on the SAG affiliated, Off-Broadway taping of Kyle Jarrow's cult-hit musical A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant. Most recently, Austin has been subbing the percussion role in the Pulitzer Prize nominated play War Words at the A.R.T./New York Stages.

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In a cabaret setting, Austin has supported Broadway performers like Andy Mienus (Spring Awakening, Les Miserables, CW's The Flash), Jelani Remy (Back to the Future, The Lion King), Will Roland (Dear Evan Hansen, Billions), Nic Rouleau (Book of Mormon), Bradley Gibson (Hercules, Lion King), Sonya Balsara (Aladdin), Jojo Fleites (CW's The Winchesters), Marc Delacruz (Hamilton), Dawn Cantwell (Wicked, 1776, Sting's The Last Ship), Alaina Anderson (Dear Evan Hansen), Sophia Manicone (Parade).

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He's also had the privilege of performing or recording with artists like Danny Blu (Echo Black, iTunes Top 100 Dance), blues guitarist Noé Socha, Albanian pop artist JaneX, Acclaimed New Jersey duo Williams Honor, Pehuenche (Nacional Records), jazz-trombonist Bob McChesney (Ray Charles, Michael Jackson), The G Clefs (1950's Billboard Charting Doo-Wop from Boston, MA), Jason Treuting of Sō Percussion. Also on shows with acts like Brian Wilson's Pet Sounds 50th Anniversary tour, Machine Girl, Downtown Boys, as well as True Widow while drumming briefly for Elizabeth Colour Wheel (The Flenser). Additionally, Austin has played and helped organize 5 DIY tours with independent bands, performing in a slew of basements, bars, and small venues across 25 states. 

 

Austin’s diverse yet precise approach to drumming has led to collaboration with talented engineers like Benny Grotto (Ben Folds, Aerosmith), James Plotkin (Sunn O))), Oneohtrix Point Never), Perry Geyer (Robin Thicke, Sarah McLaughlin), Tony Maimone (Jeff Buckley), Miranda Serra G (PILE, 2018 Boston Music Awards Producer of The Year) and Grammy nominated engineers like Jeff Lipton (Bon Iver, Lake Street Dive, City and Colour) and JP Berreondo (Dave Chappelle). Austin can be heard playing all of the percussion, as well as three drum sets recorded in surround on Corpus Vice - the 2022 debut album from composer Eden Rayz (Moon Tooth, Scaphism, cello on grammy-winning soundtrack to Assassin's Creed Valhalla). Austin has also recorded material with Pehuenche, Noé Socha, JaneX, Nyol Manswell, Theatrely.com, Eden Rayz, Man in The Ring, Archie's Weird Parody, Gilian Eve, Joe Boccia Jr, Brooke Wexler, Finnigan Faye, Squid Holiday, Hayden Fogle, Sarah Chung, Teresa Hayden, Big Fuzzy, Kira McSpice, Thomas Holmes, Sharon Chen, Aüva, Gamma Pope, Cyberbully Spaceship, and Dent.