After taking nearly a decade off, to live off-grid, grow her own food, and raise her daughter, Laura exploded back onto the 2017 festival scene. With her stellar guitarist, Terry Hunt, she showcased a whole new batch of songs that left audiences leaping to their feet, mid-set. She has expanded her story-rich, socially conscious repertoire to include field hollers, civil rights era songs and gospel music into her deep catalogue of original songs. Media have struggled to define this inimitable musician’s colorful style, which embraces bits of the blues, bluegrass, jazz, folk, gospel, reggae, and country. Laura has sometimes called her music “folk-funk,” “Afro-celtic,” or “hip-alachian.” Regardless of how she is described, Laura has an indisputable and uncanny knack for enthralling audiences from all walks of life, from octogenarians who line up to hear straight-ahead bluegrass to the pierced-and-tattooed set to their middle-aged parents.

Shaye Zadravec