Indie-folk Group Tough Old Bird Releases Nostalgic Single “Tall Summer Clouds”

Tough Old Bird, a folk music and indie rock band based out of Buffalo, NY, released their newest single “Tall Summer Clouds” on October 7. The band’s fifth single and final single of 2026 tells a story of love, loss and nostalgia.

Written by Nathan Corrigan, the lead singer of the group, a few weeks before the birth of his first child, “Tall Summer Clouds” explores the passing of time as a blessing and a curse and the idea of meeting after death with both optimism and uncertainty. 

The lyrics combined with a slow, nostalgic musical composition, transport the listener to a simple moment: lying in the grass and looking up at the clouds. The last three minutes are instrumental, with the guitar and bass maintaining a methodical melody backed with a slow build on the drums that evokes a sense of loss and hope simultaneously.

“Tall Summer Clouds” merges Tough Old Bird’s established folk sound with an indie-rock influence, a trend that began with the band’s summer releases. “Wednesday’s Child,” “Shape of Our Love,” “I Was a Giant” and “Come Back, Come Back” all came out between June and August of 2026. The batch of new songs was recorded over the past year at Sunwood Studios in Trumansburg, NY, run by engineer Chris Ploss.

In the recording for “Tall Summer Clouds,” Tough Old Bird aimed to capture the song organically by adding sparse overdubs to the live in-studio take. The song has been a staple of the band’s live performances for two years.

Nathan formed Tough Old Birds alongside his brother Matthew Corrigan. Both grew up surrounded by music in a tiny house in the woods of rural Western New York. The two songwriters released their first full-length album, Gambling Days, in 2016. 

The brothers spent years on the road as an acoustic duo and released multiple albums and EPs before the additions of bassist Brendan O’Shea and drummer Ricky Bechard created Tough Old Bird’s current four-piece lineup. The band draws influence from 90s alternative, 60s roots-rock, traditional folk music and classic country.

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