Andrew Bird (born July 11, 1973) is an American musician. He was born in Lake Bluff, Illinois and resides in the Chicago area. Bird is a singer, a violinist and, since 2004, a guitarist. He is also an accomplished whistler. His early work, which echoed gypsy jazz and traditional folk, has led into his current sound, which mixes rock with more broad compositions. His years of solo song-craft have now enabled him to produce a sound that is uniquely his own. Trained by the Suzuki method from a young age and a graduate of Illinois' Northwestern University, Bird released his first solo album, Music of Hair, in 1996.