Theatrical Trio Bandits on the Run to Release Shakespeare-Inspired New Record

On the heels of a successful tour with The Wood Brothers and in the midst of a hometown residency, NYC's Bandits on the Run have announced a new EP, The Shakespeare Tapes, releasing on May 23, 2025. The record features genderfluid renditions of text by William Shakespeare, with the first single, “Tiny Boy,” being released on his birthday, April 23rd.

“When we were approached by our friend and director Peter Anderson to create songs for his production of As You Like It that he was directing at Carnegie Mellon University, we jumped at the chance,” the band states.

“Not only is As You Like It widely regarded as the queerest of Shakespeare work, this version of the play (which would also feature songs from Twelfth Night) would lean into those queer elements of the play by casting all roles as gender non-conforming. Actors were cast in roles that were best suited to their spirits, and many of the actors' gender identities were different than what one might usually expect them to be from a traditional binaried casting lens. It excited us that we were tasked with writing songs that broke a mold of being for strictly a male or female voice in these famous classical roles. The opening and queering of that casting process opened up a whole boundless sonic universe to play with.”

From Twelfth Night, “Tiny Boy” is about the never-ending cycles of living and striving to please. “Our version leans into the angst of being at the mercy of constant beginnings and endings,” Bandits on the Run explain. “In our production of As You Like It, this song was lifted from Twelfth Night and given to both Orlando, voiced here by Sydney Shepherd (she/her) and Rosalind. 'Tiny Boy' and its reprise, 'For The Rain,' connects them and shows their shared aches.”

Known for their distinct combination of cello, guitar, accordion and found-percussion with sophisticated three-part harmonies and rotating lead vocals, the trio of Shepherd, Adrian Blake Enscoe (he/they), and Regina Strayhorn (she/her) sprang from a chance encounter while busking in NYC's bustling subways and burst onto the national stage in 2019 when their song, “Love in the Underground,” was featured on the NPR Tiny Desk Contest's Top Shelf.

After recording their 2021 EP, Now Is The Time, with producer Ryan Hadlock (Brandi Carlile, The Lumineers), the Bandits took to the screen, devising a short musical film, Band At The End Of The World, commissioned by Prospect Musicals. Since then, they have continued to explore the nexus of indie-folk and theatrical storytelling, composing music for the Netflix animated series, Storybots, scoring the movie, The Same Storm, and receiving an NEA grant for a new musical with Prospect Musicals, all the while touring the globe with appearances at the Cambridge Folk Festival, Floydfest, Summerfest Milwaukee, Americanafest, F1 Singapore Grand Prix, Mile of Music, and the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival.

Enscoe recently received rave reviews for their performance as Little Brother in Swept Away on Broadway, featuring music written by The Avett Brothers. The trio are currently working on the stage musical adaptation of the novel What's Eating Gilbert Grape alongside actor-musician Christopher Sears and Academy Award Nominee Peter Hedges, who wrote the original book and screenplay, in association with MCC Theater. The Bandits are also writing an original musical, Yukon Ho, in association with Prospect Musicals.