Laura Veirs is an American singer-songwriter.
Veirs was raised in Colorado. While she heard folk-country, classical, and pop music at home, she didn't "listen seriously," she says, until her 20s. While she was a college student at Carleton College, when she joined an all-girl punk band called "Rair Kx!". She now lives in Portland, Oregon. After graduation, her taste moved to older country and folk. At Carleton she studied geology and Mandarin Chinese. After graduation, she worked as a translator for a geological expedition in China; during the trip she began writing lyrics.
In 1999, Veirs released self-titled album, which was recorded live and featuring just her and guitar. 2003 saw the release of Troubled by the Fire, accompanied by veteran musicians such as Bill Frisell, Amy Denio and Fred Chalenor. She then signed to Nonesuch and released Carbon Glacier. Year of Meteors followed in August of 2005.
Year of Meteors was selected by the New York Times as a "critics choice". Veirs released Saltbreakers in 2007 and July Flame in January 2010 on her Raven Marching band label. The Washington Post said it "may well be one of the best releases of 2010."
Portland based producer Tucker Martine has produced her last six albums, and plays many instruments on the records as well. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
Laura Veirs (born Laura Pauline Veirs on 24 October 1973 in Colorado Springs, Colorado) is an American singer-songwriter.
Veirs was raised in Colorado, studied geology and Mandarin Chinese at Carleton College, worked as a translator for a geological expedition in China, and now lives in Portland, Oregon. Veirs has said that she didn't seriously listen to music until she was in her 20s; instead, she just heard what was in her environment. She listened to folk / country / classical / pop, around the house & on the radio, during her youth.
Attending Carleton College in rural Minnesota, Veirs latched onto feminist punk rock from the Pacific Northwest, eventually starting an all-female punk band called "Rair Kx!". Veirs studied geology and Mandarin Chinese. After college, she embraced older country and folk music. Her first foray into songwriting started with a geological expedition in China, where she served as translator. She was miserable and immersed herself into writing lyrics as a way of coping.
She put out her own self-titled album Laura Veirs, recorded live and featuring just her and guitar, in 1999. She has since made five highly acclaimed records with producer Tucker Martine. 2003 saw the release of Troubled by the Fire, a full-band effort that found the artist sharing the studio with such luminaries as Bill Frisell and violist Eyvind Kang. She signed to Nonesuch Records the following year with the atmospheric follow-up Carbon Glacier. Year of Meteors followed in August of 2005. She collaborated with The Decemberists on "Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)", from their 2006 album The Crane Wife. Her sixth record, Saltbreakers, was released worldwide on Nonesuch Records in April 2007. Her seventh album July Flame was released in January 2010.
In November 2011, Veirs released the album Tumble Bee: Laura Veirs Sings Folk Songs For Children. The album presents mostly traditional songs, and features an array of guest musicians, including Colin Meloy, Jim James, and Bela Fleck. The album won a Parents' Choice Award in 2012.
In September 2012 her first feature film soundtrack was released: Hello I Must Be Going.
Veirs tours frequently in Europe, the US and Australia both solo and with her backing band Saltbreakers, consisting of Karl Blau on bass, guitar, and backing vocals, keyboardist Steve Moore, and Tucker Martine on drums. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.