Magic Fire builds on the success of the Stray Birds' 2014 Yep Roc debut, Best Medicine, which was hailed by NPR's World Café and debuted at #2 on Billboard’s Bluegrass chart. Mountain Stage applauded their ability to "successfully draw on the rich traditions of American folk music while still sounding modern." When it came time to record Magic Fire, the Stray Birds retreated to the Hudson River Valley with Grammy Award-winning producer Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson) and engineer Justin Guip, and the group spent ten days together joyously exploring and creating the music that would become Magic Fire.