Laura Cantrell, alt country singer/songwriter, plays Whelans on Sunday, the 25th of September.
Laura Cantrell has been blazing a trail through the alt country scene over the last five years with a brilliant radio show, Radio Thrift Shop and three critically acclaimed albums.
Having recently supported the great Ralph Stanley, Cantrell returns to the capitol to showcase songs from her new album, Humming by the Flowered Vine with an intimate performance at Whelans.
Hailing from Nashville, Tennessee, Laura Cantrell was exposed to country music at an early age and got a first hand education on country music as a tour guide to the County Music Hall of Fame. When Cantrell went to New York to study at Columbia University, she became involved in college radio spinning her favourite classic and contemporary country songs.
Immersed in the alternative scene, Cantrell began singing in college dorms and coffee houses and made guest appearance on recordings by Bricks and They Might Be Giants. Cantrell released her first EP, Hello in 1996, while working in the Bank of America and also landed her own show, Radio Thrift Shop at the wonderful WFMU radio station. In 1999, she laid down a four track demo with Jay Sherman-Godfrey that eventually winged its way to Glasgow and the head of Shoeshine Records.
With Shoeshine's encouragement, Cantrell completed her debut album, Not The Tremblin' Kind which was released on Shoeshine's new imprint, Spit & Polish in 2000. The album proved to be a huge critical hit and Cantrell picked up kudos from legendary British DJ, John Peel. Her follow-up album, When the Roses Bloom Again was released two years later and Cantrell opened for another fan, Elvis Costello on his American and European tour.
On her latest album, Humming By the Flowered Vine, Cantrell showcases her wonderful command of country classics like "Wishful Thinking", her thoughtful rendition of Lucinda Williams "Letters" and her own stunning compositions like "Old Downtown" and "Bees". Like Gillian Welch, Cantrell effortlessly translates the melodic beauty and lyrical honesty of country music into a fascinating new musical style that should appeal to all lovers of good music.
A night of wonderful songs from a rising star, Laura Cantrell plays Whelans on the 25th.
Whelans
Buy Tickets
Time : 8pm
Tickets : €21
Tickets are available from Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.ie
Whelans
25 Wexford St
Dublin 2
Tel : +353 (0) 1 4780766
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