Occasionally you hear stories of gestures of generosity and goodwill in the peer to peer digital age but to those in the business they can sometimes seem like urban legends.  So to dispel the myth that everyone has turned to file sharing, or freeloading, we offer up proof positive from our PO box that people will pay, unprovoked, for music they discover via sharing.

Thanks Matt!  And thanks to all who lend support with their purchases!

The letter:

Hi Laura,

I just started listening to your music and like it!  I downloaded 2 albums from the library, and wanted to pay you for them.  See you + looking forward to new albums,  Matt

Laura will be touring the UK in February. The first show tickets to be offered are in London”s Union Chapel. (More to come!)

Home now!  Thanks to all who came out and supported and hosted us on our tour through the East, South and North. Montreal wins the Best Crowd Participation Award.  So many rosy-cheeked singers!  Tennessee impressed me with his ability to go with the flow on so many long drives and weird green room situations (the pic below sums up the tour).  The little guy (now 5.5 months) has visited 20 states and 8 countries already.  We are all resting now and gearing up for another run up the West Coast in a couple of weeks.  Love, Laura and the gang

A smaller-than-usual but very participatory crowd in Chicago last night. They get the award so far for “Best Crowd Participation on ‘Life is Good Blues’ and ‘July Flame.’” Chicago is the place to beat! 

Tim has been eating some weird-ass sandwiches: #1. peanut butter, jelly and tortilla chips; #2. peanut butter, ham and cashews (!); #3. peanut butter, oranges, prunes, cheerios, wine-infused chicken (!!!). What’s next? 

Yesterday in Chicago: a walk along the lake with Aunt Barbara, bibimbap at a Korean place down the street, a short guitar lesson from Tim (triad inversions interrupted by waking baby), laundry and two naps. Cleveland bound now… only four more shows to go but many, many miles to cover. We are tired but spirits are still high. Go team!

Great show in Saint Louis last night. The crowd was really friendly and participatory and loose. The owner let us use an apartment upstairs so Tennessee could sleep in a quiet place during the show (he slept under a table with a quilt over the top.)  All went well until the end of the night when the tenant came home with her German Shepard who barked furiously at little sleeping Tenn.  I swept him up off the floor and dashed him outside. An unwelcome adrenaline rush!

Now we’re in Madison, out of the southern heat…. stay tuned for more adventures … xoxo

Hi everybody – 

This tour is going great.  TN is a trooper and can be entertained in a variety of ways during our long hours in the van: a teething rattle, a plastic bottle, a piece of paper, funny faces, and many, many songs. This is the most singing I’ve ever done with a band in a van.  We are in Nashville resting now at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, and off to Louisville tomorrow.  We have a LOT of driving coming up, but we will take each day as it comes.  Alex and Tim are playing their asses off, Gracie is a natural tour manager AND baby care-giver, the Watson Twins are sweet as they come, Tennessee is a smily, good-natured fellow and I feel tired but very lucky!

Listen to the performance online at KEXP

See more photos and read a description on the kexp blog.

Meanwhile a profile recently ran on the Huffington Post, accompanied by sneak preview for a session recorded for Fogged Clarity.

Veirs has been putting out smartly arranged, lyrically cogent records for over ten years, but only recently gained the listenership she warrants with the release of this year’s July Flame.

Lastly, this plug for Laura’s NYC show ran in the New York Times:

Laura Veirs and the Hall of Flames (Tuesday) Ms. Veirs’s ballads, with electronics twinkling above soft acoustic guitars like stars in a perfect night sky, cast romance as both intimate contact and cosmic event

Ravenna by the sea — a beach resort and a spectacular historic city. Laura and the Hall of Flames played their last concert of this European tour last night on the beach as a full moon rose over the Adriatic Sea.

Tennessee got his first bit of beach sun and put his feet in the ocean for the first time. While we played on the beach the restaurant was transformed into a performance venue.

Leslie and I returned to the hotel in Ravenna and the band played until late. It was a good crowd and a great end to a great tour. After the music stopped, well after midnight, Karl headed for the airport in Venice to start his trip home to the Northwest.

Today Laura and Tucker and Tennessee enjoyed a much needed break from the long drives and evening performances. Leslie and I took in the sights of this ancient city — a world center for mosaics. A few are shown in the photos below.

Arrivaderci Italy and Arrivaderci to Laura Veirs and the Hall of Flames. Tomorrow Leslie and I head off on our own and Laura, TN, and Tucker visit Venice before returning to Portland.

We ‘granny nannies’ have had a great trip across Europe; learning how to help little 4 month old Tennessee cope with the rigors of travel and enjoying watching and listening to Laura and her band create musical art that touches people deeply and seeing beautiful places and meeting great people.

31 tracks for $7.99! Support NOLA & the Gulf

Includes “I Can See Your Tracks” by Laura Veirs

To mark the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina  — and in response to the Gulf Oil Disaster also deeply affecting the region — Air Traffic Control (a nonprofit resource for activist and philanthropic musicians) has produced Dear New Orleans, a digital music benefit compilation for the people of the Gulf.

Dear New Orleans will be available for download on Tuesday, August 24th at http://www.dearneworleansmusic.org, iTunes, Amazon.com, Rhapsody and eMusic.com.

Dear New Orleans is the product of lasting friendships forged between musicians from all walks of life and New Orleans artists, tradition bearers, organizers and a cast of “only in New Orleans” characters during artist activism retreats co-produced by Air Traffic Control. The compilation features 31 New Orleans-inspired tracks ranging from original compositions written by musicians about their experiences in the area to covers of popular New Orleans songs to one-of-a-kind collaborations between retreat alumni and celebrated New Orleans musicians.
Proceeds from Dear New Orleans will be granted to New Orleans based nonprofits working to support and sustain the region’s unique musical and cultural traditions and to protect and restore vital environment and community resources for future generations. Such beneficiaries include Sweet Home New Orleans (http://www.sweethomeneworleans.org/) and Gulf Restoration Network (http://healthygulf.org/).

Laura Veirs is honored to lend her voice to Dear New Orleans. She encourages each of you to check out this amazing compilation and do what you can to help make a difference for the Gulf Coast.

For more information on Dear New Orleans, a free download from the compilation, and to learn more about how you can help the Gulf, please visit www.dearneworleansmusic.org.