The Stray Birds On World Cafe

The outstanding Pennsylvania folk band The Stray Birds grew a lot as it recorded its third and most recent album, Magic Fire. As singer and multi-instrumentalist Maya de Vitry says. "It's become a more open, creative collaboration from the beginning of the process. We've grown in the way we communicate when we actually play music together." Those weren't the only changes: She and her partners, Oliver Craven and Charlie Muench, added drums and other instruments and worked with an outside producer, Larry Campbell, for the first time.

Hear the conversation and several songs in the session above, and watch a live performance video of "Shining In The Distance" below.