Andrew Bird Announces 20th Anniversary Box Set Celebrating The Mysterious Production of Eggs, Arriving February 27th on His Own Wegawam Music Co.
Expansive Collection Includes Three Albums Filled with Previously Unheard Rarities, Demos, Alternate Versions, Orchestral Arrangements & Unreleased Songs, With 54-Page Book of Unseen Photos, Essays, New Artwork & More
Listen To Unearthed Single “Blood” For The Very First Time Today, Backed by Orchestral Rendition of “Fake Palindromes”:
Anniversary Tour Features Full Performances of The Mysterious Production of Eggs Alongside Symphony Orchestras, With Additional Dates Revealed Today
"The Mysterious Production of Eggs might wrestle with unsavory topics, but it does so with a shrug of the shoulders, a wry smile, and a heart full of awe-inspiring song"
Pitchfork, 2005
"Bird dove into his own baffling world, emerging like a deep-sea diver clutching pearls of perplexing wisdom...Bird finally found it in all its confounding glory on 2005's The Mysterious Production Of Eggs"
Stereogum, 2025
Today, with the announcement of an expansive and revelatory new box set, Andrew Bird celebrates 20 years of the album that cemented his enigmatic style into the indie music canon, shaping the sounds of an era and inspiring decades of imitation: The Mysterious Production of Eggs. Arriving physically and digitally on February 27th, on his own Wegawam Music Co. (via Secretly Distribution), the forthcoming collection features the original release of the record alongside two LPs of previously unheard material, including a one-to-one playthrough of demos, live takes and alternate versions of each of the album’s songs, and a third LP of both unearthed rarities and a selection of highlights that have been rearranged and performed live alongside the orchestra of Nu Deco Ensemble. With all-new artwork created by original cover artist and longtime collaborator, Jay Ryan, the limited edition 3LP vinyl set also includes a 54-page book of unseen photographs and special surprises, as well as a reflective essay written by Andrew Bird, and an exclusive piece from Anders Lindall, examining the unexpected and fascinating five years that it took Bird and his collaborators to finally get this album right.
Listen to “Blood,” a song made during The Mysterious Production of Eggs but never released until today, backed by an orchestral version of the beloved “Fake Palindromes”:
https://wegawam.lnk.to/borroworrob
As Andrew Bird explains in the box set’s accompanying story, the lessons learned from creating The Mysterious Production of Eggs were, “(1) Failure can be part of the process. (2) Don’t automatically do whatever worked the last time or follow through with the plan just because it’s ‘the plan’. Travel light and be adaptable.”
While The Mysterious Production of Eggs arrived in 2005, crystallizing the ingenious live-looping, poetic whimsy, whistling melodies and emotional resonance that would inform the 17 albums and hundreds of concerts that Andrew Bird has crafted since, the record’s genesis dates back to 2000. Scrapped three different times, the history of Eggs is difficult to untangle, but it begins in a family barn in Western Illinois, filled with hay and raccoons, heated by a Norwegian stove, and surrounded by chickens and one large peacock that appeared at dusk. After converting it into a recording studio, Bird brought in musicians like New Orleans’ Mike “Nappy” Napolitano, Pat Sansone (now of Wilco) on bass and guitar, and Kevin O’Donnell on drums to make what he thought would be The Mysterious Production of Eggs, but the outcome was too dense and overstuffed.
He decamped to Nashville to track Weather Systems and take another attempt at Eggs in 2001 – mixing, mastering and throwing it into the trash bin for a second time. In 2003, Bird started chipping away again at Wall to Wall Recordings in downtown Chicago, but then was invited to meet with producer Tony Berg in Los Angeles, where he ended up finishing the record in 2004, playing everything on the album but drums, and tracking it all alone in Berg’s backyard studio over the course of a month. Exploring childhood, creativity and science with wit, precision and ambition, the resulting music is as refreshing and definitive now as it was in 2005.
“Those years at the barn (2002-2005) were a creative bender. Immersed in nature with few distractions there was time to indulge every impulse without much feedback (for better or worse) from my Chicago community. This isn’t working. Scrap it and don’t look back. Don’t look back, until now, of course. I’ve said I’m reluctant about exhuming this period as I’m writing and recording my 19th album as we speak. It has had its revelations and due to the exhaustive efforts, we dug up some really cool stuff from the cutting room floor. Anyway, looking back can be painful but in this case it’s worth it.”
-Andrew Bird
This fall, The Mysterious Production of Eggs’ 20th Anniversary Box Set will be accompanied by an interactive website featuring archival video footage, photos, documents, art and more, as well as special events and collaborations to be announced.
Tomorrow, Andrew Bird begins an anniversary tour celebrating The Mysterious Production of Eggs, where he will perform the album in full with some of the world’s foremost symphony orchestras. Stops include Atlanta, Austin, Portland, Seattle and Denver, with eight additional shows across the East Coast and Midwest just announced today, and slated for spring 2026. In between the two legs, Bird returns to Chicago’s Fourth Presbyterian Church for his annual run of Gezelligheid holiday shows this December.
Find tickets here, and subscribe to Andrew Bird’s Substack, Ahem!, where he will continue diving deep into each song from Eggs with exclusive performances and personal writing.
Pre-Order The Mysterious Production of Eggs (20th Anniversary Box Set) Here
Photo by Andrea Troolin
The Mysterious Production of Eggs (20th Anniversary Box Set) Tracklist
LP1
1. /=/
2. Sovay
3. A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left
4. Fake Palindromes
5. Measuring Cups
6. Banking on a Myth
7. Masterfade
8. Opposite Day
9. Skin Is, My
10. The Naming of Things
11. MX Missiles
12. /=/=/
13. Tables and Chairs
14. The Happy Birthday Song
LP2
1. Sovay (Live in Berlin)
2. A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left (Mayfair Studio)
3. Blood (Wall to Wall, Beech House)
4. Measuring Cups (The Barn)
5. Banking on a Myth (Beech House)
6. Zeros and Ones (The Barn)
7. Opposite Day (Beech House)
8. Skin Is, My (The Barn)
9. Naming of Things (Mayfair Studio)
10. MX Missiles (Beech House)
11. Tables and Chairs (Demo)
12. The Happy Birthday Song (Beech House)
LP3
1. Capital I (The Barn)
2. Right on Time (The Barn)
3. The Happy Birthday Song (The Barn)
4. Measuring Cups Demo (The Barn)
5. Knapsack (The Barn)
6. Fake Palindromes (with Nu Deco Ensemble)
7. A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left (with Nu Deco Ensemble)
8. Happy Birthday (with Nu Deco Ensemble)
9. Tables and Chairs (with Nu Deco Ensemble)
Andrew Bird Tour Dates
9/10 - Atlanta, GA - Atlanta Symphony Hall with Atlanta Symphony
9/17 - Austin, TX - Bass Concert Hall with Central Texas Philharmonic
9/20 - Portland, OR - Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall with Oregon Symphony
9/25 - Seattle, WA - Benaroya Hall with Seattle Symphony SOLD OUT!
11/13 - Denver, CO - Boettcher Hall with Colorado Symphony
12/8 - Chicago, IL - Andrew Bird's Gezelligheid @ Fourth Presbyterian Church
12/9 - Chicago, IL - Andrew Bird's Gezelligheid @ Fourth Presbyterian Church
12/10 - Chicago, IL - Andrew Bird's Gezelligheid @ Fourth Presbyterian Church
12/11 - Chicago, IL - Andrew Bird's Gezelligheid @ Fourth Presbyterian Church SOLD OUT!
12/12 - Chicago, IL - Andrew Bird's Gezelligheid @ Fourth Presbyterian Church SOLD OUT!
3/14 - Seattle, WA - Meany Center for the Performing Arts
4/2 - Waterbury, CT - Palace Theatre with Waterbury Symphony
4/4 - Providence, RI - Veterans Memorial Auditorium with Rhode Island Philharmonic
4/7 - Buffalo, NY - Kleinhan's Music Hall with Buffalo Philharmonic
4/9 - Indianapolis, IN - Clowes Memorial Hall with Indianapolis Symphony
5/29 - Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium with Asheville Symphony
5/31 - Greensboro, NC - Tanger Center with Greensboro Symphony
6/3 - North Bethesda, MD - Strathmore with National Philharmonic
6/4 - North Bethesda, MD - Strathmore with National Philharmonic
Newly Announced Dates in BOLD
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