He appeared in the 2010 documentary Echotone, a chronicle of the Austin, Texas music scene, where he offered a negative assessment of his time signed to a major record label.

Baird first achieved success as a member of Sound Team (2001–2007), which was signed to Capitol Records in 2005 but dropped from the label after the commercial failure of their album Movie Monster.

"[4] NPR called {{{Sunset}}} "....beautifully lo-fi... a bare and innocent album that sounds as though a friend were strumming songs just for you in his living room.

[6] Gorilla vs. Bear described Bright Blue Dream as "dense and adventurous" and compared it favorably to the work of Syd Barrett, Brian Eno and Ennio Morricone.

As a thank you for his efforts, the team signed him to a one-day player contract on August 14, 2009, and subbed him in as a second baseman in the sixth inning of a game against the Bowie Baysox.

[11] In 2013, Baird moved from Austin, Texas to Oakland, California to become a teaching assistant while pursuing an MFA in electronic music at Mills College;[12] there, he released the album Spring Break of the Soul.

In 2016, he released the UK only 2XLP Earth into Aether, a selection of tracks from his self-released records, which The Guardian called "a lovely, warm, witty psychedelic journey" in a 4-star review.

[21] AllMusic gave the album 4 stars, saying "Earth into Aether is an opportune entrance point for those new to the artist, doubling as a well-curated playlist for established fans.

"[22] He subsequently released Summer is Gone, an orchestral album largely tracked live at Abbey Road Studios and ISSUE Project Room.

"[31] The Village Voice wrote of the film, "The ghostly ambassador...is Bill Baird, the magnetically awkward experimental rocker who emerged from a label deal gone wrong with a new band and a few rungs under his eyes.

[37]Baird and media artist Taurin Barrera debuted an immersive audio-visual installation at the Museum of Human Achievement in 2014 centered around a fictional time-share salesman and a bag of Chee-tos used as an electronic controller for all aspects of the room.

[38] A public access opera, "Mundus Novus," written while in residence with Paul Dresher, was premiered at the 2015 Switchboard Music Festival in San Francisco.

[40] His video installation for The Society for Hard Determinists, a 2015 theater work, was nominated for the B. Iden Payne award for "Outstanding Media Design.

"[41] The following year, an interactive multi-media sculptural work, "It's Not a Bubble," premiered at the Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture for the 2016 Soundwaves Festival.