Laura Veirs

I’m obsessive about my favorite musicians. Those who know me know this. I recently ran into an old friend that I hadn’t seen in years. “Every time I hear Laura Veirs I think of you,” he said.

We all have different parts of our personalities. Laura Veirs and her diorama of crystalline sounds spark my inner naturista. She’s feet in the grass and warm wind in the face, but with a dash of cerebral grit. I once knitted an entire blanket listening only to Carbon Glacier and Year Of Meteors. Thankfully I got to see her perform at Little Brother’s shortly before it closed. Two months ago, she released July Flame, her seventh album and first release in three years. The 13-song collection features contributions by Jim James and the Tosca String Quartet, as well as such empyrean instruments as the jaw harp, thumb piano, viola, and archtop guitar. One song was even inspired by a historic French poet. Similar to Hayao Miyazaki, Laura paints a world that's inherently and uniquely transportive. She lives in Portland and speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese. I bet she has a killer quinoa recipe and owns more than one pair of hiking boots.