Zoe Mulford charms audiences with powerful, story-driven songwriting, an engaging stage presence, and an unlabored vocal style. She backs her voice with guitar or claw-hammer banjo, drawing on the traditional music of Appalachia and the British Isles and stealing a few pages from the American Songbook to create music that feels both comfortably lived-in and sparklingly fresh.

Her fifth album, Small Brown Birds, centers on a new collaboration with English fiddler and mandolinist Tom Kitching. The songs trace a progression from winter to spring, with a message of resilience, community, and hope in times of trouble. The song “The President Sang Amazing Grace” drew the attention of Joan Baez, who has covered it on her 2018 album “Whistle Down the Wind.”