Birdhouse at EXB Events – Live Review
Birdhouse with Sienna & Sarah – Photo by Ken Morton
Birdhouse, EXB Events, Sherman Oaks, CA., May 31, 2025
EXB Events presents house parties in the San Fernando Valley featuring some of the most promising young bands and solo artists around the Los Angeles area. And on this otherwise sleepy night in the suburbs of Sherman Oaks, EXB was presenting a Fight 4 Philips Benefit, with all proceeds helping to pay some pretty excessive medical bills for a musician who lives here in the area. At $5 a pop and with a succession of terrific talent, the event was not to be missed – with social media and word of mouth bringing a very good turn out! And I have to say, the set up and sound were very well thought out and EXB delivered a night to remember.
Highwire Daze was there to cover the headlining Birdhouse, a band who made their way into our Instagram algorithm thanks to their absolutely terrific single Paper Crane. With a stunning amalgamation of influences such as Radiohead, Nirvana, and shoegaze. Birdhouse present a sound that is absolutely captivating. And with each member being between the ages of 16-17, Birdhouse performs with a sense of maturity and professionalism, while still exuding a youthfulness and wide-eyed wonder that will endear the band to music fans of all ages.
Birdhouse – Photo by Linda Emord
Sienna & Sarah played right before Birdhouse, an acoustic duo with vibrantly original songs and gorgeous harmonies. I cannot find these two on Instagram, but their show was breathtaking. and I hope to see them again in the future. For the very the last Sienna & Sarah song, the Birdhouse trio joined the two girls onstage and proceeded into a rapturous cover version of the Radiohead classic Creep. This was definitely one of the many highlights of the evening.
The stage was then taken over by Birdhouse, who would transport the listener into a state of pure auditory bliss, kicking off their set off with the rocking Radio Revolution, and the merging into the refrains of Atari and Cindy. The single Paper Crane was up next, and a lot of people in the audience knew the song and were singing along,
The trio who inhabits the Birdhouse membership are remarkably talented. Frontman Cillian Leddy is pensive and charismatic, his soaring vocals and majestic guitar work stunning the senses and setting the imagination in flight. Channeling genre stalwarts as Mark Gardener of Ride and Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance and even a shade of Iggy Pop, Cillian’s performance is imaginative and intriguing. And what an amazing and dynamic rhythm section Birdhouse possesses, with Wiley Alden unleashing a pulsating low end on bass, and Oliver Janns performing drums with an exquisite skill and precision. This rocking threesome delivers the sonic goods tenfold and beyond!
Birdhouse – Photo by Linda Emord
Toward’s the end of the set, Birdhouse presented Cashell’s World. a selection Cillian dedicated to his brother – and what a poignant and gripping song this was, brimming with the throes of nostalgia. Bouquet was the final track on the set list that left a lingering impression.
And although the 11:00PM curfew had arrived, the audience was not about the let Birdhouse fly way without an encore. Birdhouse would unveil Moon, their other single – leaving everyone with the soundtrack for a perfect conclusion to a Saturday night under the stars. Stay tuned, because Birdhouse is an exhilarating new band we will be hearing a lot more about in the months ahead.
(Review by Ken Morton – Photos by Ken Morton and Linda Emord)
Birdhouse on Instagram
EXB Events on Instagram
