Duo gets unexpected tour of Europe

A former resident of Saratoga is taking his talents to the Europe this spring.

Saratoga Middle/High school graduate Garry Wood and his wife Mirthe Bolhuis are headed to the Netherlands starting a two-month tour.

Dubbing themselves the "Bird and the Bear," the Folk/Americana duo said that though they have several shows lined up in Holland and Germany, their trip did not start out as a tour at all.

"We originally planned the entire trip as time off basically," Garry said. "We had a pretty crazy year. We were going to go see her family and spend two months relaxing and writing songs ... and then all of these shows lined up."

Both Garry and Mirthe have a long history in music. Garry attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Mirthe spent years studying music in her home country of The Netherlands. But ultimately, it was their love of bluegrass and folk that brought them to the music capital of the world in Nashville.

"I really love country and bluegrass and you can't really find that in Holland or in Europe," Mirthe said.

"I just wanted to be a musician my entire life," Garry said. "It started early on."

In after playing together for almost two years, the couple said that the biggest change for them has been their recording process. Because of Mirthe's Dutch citizenship, she could legally on stay in America for three months at a time. This created some unique circumstances when recording the Bird and the Bear's first EP.

"The first project we did, we were just trying to do it as cheap as possible and as fast as possible," Garry said.

Garry and Mirthe said they now have better access to recording resources and Mirthe can stay longer in America, which has helped the Bird and the Bear develop more as a band.

"We are definitely finding our sound," Mirthe said. "Just because now we actually have the time to do that. Every time, it was at three months when you finally get something going, then I would have to leave again. So now we have the time to actually try to find our sound."

Garry and Mirthe said it has been a wild ride since they first formed in Nashville. For their band playing sets at odd hours of the day, traveling across the Tennessee Smokey Mountain region has taken a toll on them. They said though they will be performing in the Netherlands, Mirthe and Garry will take some time to recuperate, which will include a trip to Venice so they can finally go on their honeymoon.

As for the next step for the band, they are hoping that they can put pieces together on their next project while in Holland.

"We are hoping to put an EP together and then maybe an album," Mirthe said.