Ohio Duo Bird & Byron Head to America's Got Talent Live Shows After Howie Mandel Sends Them Through

Ohio-born duo Bird & Byron advanced to the live rounds of America's Got Talent Season 21 on the August 11 episode, after judge Howie Mandel used his power to send them straight through. The pair performed an original song called "By My Side" on the night, according to Billboard.

Bird & Byron is Blake Bergere on vocals and Nick Lorenz on guitar, with Lorenz also handling effects-laden guitar work and programmed backing instruments. The duo are from New Albany, Ohio, in the Columbus area, and their official Instagram describes them as "Rock & Soul in Nashville, TN." They have known each other for 20 years and played music together for seven, per a post on their Instagram account.

Their path to the live shows ran through a new AGT format element: the Judges' Callbacks, a second-chance round for acts that earned "Yes" votes during regular auditions, as NBC's recap explains. Bird & Byron first auditioned on the June 23 episode, where they performed another original song, "I'll Always Be There," and received four "Yes" votes from the judges, according to NBC4i.

That audition left a mark. Judge Sofia Vergara called it "the most perfect Audition I've seen this season" and said America was going to go crazy over them, per NBC's episode recap. The duo were among the Top 44 acts of Season 21, competing from the auditions through to the live shows, as NBC confirmed.

The AGT Live Quarterfinals began Tuesday, August 18 on NBC and stream the following day on Peacock. Billboard's coverage includes embedded video of Bird & Byron's performance and the results moment.

For a duo with roughly 19,000 Instagram followers and a self-described "Rock & Soul" sound, the live shows are a national television stage — and a chance to let original songs, not covers, do the talking. The duo announced their live-show advancement on their own Instagram account.

AGT Season 21 airs on NBC. Episodes stream on Peacock.