Greetings from Liverpool, England!

We are well into our Europe jaunt, and minus a few van and gear kinks, things are going wonderfully.

A while back I was asked to record a cover of the song “Hey there Little Red Riding Hood” for a Volvo commercial. The commercial started airing this week and I think it’s pretty damn cute.

Little Red Riding Hood

Stay tuned. Barsuk is going to release a full version of the cover soon. I never though I’d cover a Sam Sham and the Pharaohs song but it was so fun! Perhaps I should record Wooly Bully next.

Cheers,
lg.

Hello hello!

I’ve been keeping up with my goal of taking one photo out the van window every day of tour. Here are a few from the last leg of US shows:

Thank you to so many friends and listeners who have made these past couple months of US tour so inspiring and fruitful!

We are off to Europe next week and are excited to see new faces!

Here are the dates! We strongly encourage getting tickets in advance:

April 3 – Utrecht, Netherlands – Kargadoor
April 4 – Haarlem, Netherlands – Patronaat
April 5 – Ottersum, Netherlands – Roepaen
April 7 – Stockton, England – Stockton Calling Festival
April 8 – Totnes, Devon England – Studio Lounge
April 10 – London, England – Lexington
April 11 – Liverpool, England – Leaf
April 12 – Leeds, England – Brudenell Social Club
April 13 – Brighton, England – Komedia Bar
April 14 – Bristol, England – Louisiana
April 16 – Paris, France – Rough Trade In-Store
April 17 – Hamburg, Germany – Übel & Gefährlich
April 18 – Dresden, Germany – Beatpol
April 19 – Berlin, Germany – Gruner Salon
April 20 – Gera, Germany – BAP (Songtage)
April 21 – Magdeburg, Germany -Oli-Kino Madgeburg
April 23 – Leipzig, Germany – Nato
April 24 – Dusseldorf, Germany – Zakk
April 25 – Frankfurt, Germany – Das Bett
April 26 – Erlangen, Germany – E-Werk
April 27 – Geislingen, Germany – Rätschenmühle
April 28 – Dachau, Germany – Kulturschranne
April 29 – Zurich, Switzerland – El Lokal
April 30 – Milan, Italy – Rocket (“Kiss This!” night)
May 2 – Madrid, Spain – Cafe Berlin
May 4 – San Sebastian, Spain – Homeless Music Festival
May 6 – Cerezales del Condado (Leon), Spain -Plaza Principal
May 7 – Castellon, Spain – Veneno Stereo
May 8 – Huesca, Spain – Matadero
May 10 – Paris, France – Café de la Danse
May 11 – Brussels, Belgium – Les Nuits Botanique Festival
May 12 – Ostend, Belgium – DeZwerver / Leffinge

Portlanders! We are playing Livewire! this Saturday, March 31st at the Alberta Rose Theater. Other guests include the amazing writer/advice-giver Cheryl Strayed!

I’m enjoying a week at home in Portland, spring is slowly playing her hand, and Sellwood is aglow!

love, lg.

The full five-piece LG band is about to descend into the madness in Austin.

If you find yourself amongst the hordes, here are a few opportunities to see us play:

Tues 3/13- 8:00pm Austin Secret Show (email for directions)
Wed 3/14 – 7:15pm Portland Party @ the Grackle
Thurs 3/15 – 10:15pm Barsuk Records Showcase @ Red Eye Fly
Saturday 3/17 – 4:30 pm Maison d’Etoile Day Show

We are also playing a few more shows/sessions that may or may not be open to the public.  I’ll keep you posted!

anxiously yours,

lg.

Dear friends, old and new,

Thank you so much to the dear people that have been coming to our shows these past couple months. I’ve been incredibly encouraged by your sweet spirits!

After a short break at home, La Grande Band is back out on the road, visiting our friends in the Midwest, and veering south to Austin to SXSW. We have a new touring band member, amazing horn-player/pianist/singer Mr. John Whaley. John is so fun to play music with. Matt and Brian continue to crack me up on stage every night. I am incredibly lucky.

I’ve been making a practice of taking one photo a day out the van window. It’s been a good way of paying attention to the beautiful things we pass.

Big Sky, I-94, Montana

Europe! We just announced a slew of dates in April. Please check out the shows page (and London friends, buy your tickets to the Lexington before it sells out).

We were lucky enough to visit the NPR mothership while in Washington DC. I did an interview for weekend edition and we played the 200th tiny desk (I also had the honor of playing the first).

You can hear the interview and watch the concert at NPR.

More soon and lots of love,
lg.

Hello friendlies!

I have been waiting so long to share this with you, and you can now hear La Grande (the new record) in its entirety over at http://npr.org!  It will be available for free streaming for one week, so please pass along the link to friends!

Click here to stream at NPR

We are off to Europe this week, and begin US tour in Boston January 25th! Check out the dates on the tour page.

love, lg

Seasons greetings!

I just returned from a weekend in La Grande, with a caravan of about twenty Portlanders including members of the LG band and director Alicia Rose.  We were lucky enough to film a music video here:

The owners of the Hot Lake Hotel were so generous in letting us use there property, and we had amazing time staying at the (possibly haunted) Hot Springs!  I can’t wait to see the final video! I’ll post some pictures on Facebook soon.  It’s sort of a cross between Mary Poppins and The Shining.

I’ve added some more US Tour dates, and even more are being lined up right now.  We will be heading over across the pond in mid-January to celebrate the European release of La Grande, with shows in major cities.

Also, Jealous Butcher is releasing a single 7-inch of the song La Grande with a cover of Leadbelly’s In the Pines as the B-Side. Order it here, and also pre-order the La Grande LP here: http://Jealousbutcher.com/home/index.html

More soon!

love, lg.

Hello Autumn song-singers,

I have been gearing up to present the new record in January.  I’ve been waiting so long to share these songs and it’s finally feeling like a reality.  Now, as most people are drawing indoors and into themselves, I have been looking outwards, and dreaming up the first run of shows for the new record (including an extra special record release party in Portland on February 3).  I’ve included tour dates below (more to come).  I am thrilled to be sharing many of these shows with one of my favorite bands, Breathe Owl Breathe.  If you don’t already know BOB’s music, you’re going to fall in love.

I will be playing these shows as a 4-5 piece band (including percussion, flute clarinet, bass, piano, lap-steel, and 3-part harmonies).

The first song, and title track from the new record, is up at Paste!

http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/av/2011/11/song-premiere-laura-gibson—la-grande-1.html

New US tour dates below!

1/23/12 - Other Music - New York, NY (FREE In-Store)

1/23/12 – Live on WFMU Radio

1/25/12 – TT The Bears – Boston, MA

1/26/12 – Johnny Brendas –  Philadelphia, PA

1/27/12 - Iota – Arlington, VA

1/28/12 – Attucks Theater – Norfolk, VA

1/30/12 – Mercury Lounge – New York, NY *

2/3/12 – Mississippi Studios SOLD OUT (2nd  show added! ) - Portland, OR ^

2/4/12 – Tractor Tavern – Seattle, WA %

2/5/12 – Free solo In-Store @ House Of Records (3pm) – Eugene, OR

2/6/12 – Bottom of The Hill – San Francisco, CA #

2/7/12 – Muddy Waters – Santa Barbara, CA #

2/8/12 – Echo – Los Angeles, CA #

2/9/12 – Pappy & Harriet’s – Joshua Tree, CA #

2/10/12 – Plush – Tucson, AZ #

2/12/12 – The Mohawk – Austin, TX #

2/13/12 - Fitzgerald’s - Houston, TX #

2/14/12 – Dan’s Silverleaf- Denton, TX #

2/15/12 – Opolis – Norman, OK #

2/16/12 – Low Spirits – Albuquerque, NM #

2/17/12 – Hi-Dive – Denver, CO #

2/18/12 - Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, UT #

2/19/12 - Neurolux - Boise, ID #

* with Alexa Wilding

# with Breathe Owl Breathe

% with Grand Hallway and Devil Whale

^ with Mike Midlo of Pancake Breakfast

Dear friends, supporters, and accidental-stumble-uponers,

I am completely overjoyed to announce that my new record, La Grande, will be released in January on Barsuk Records (US) and City Slang (EU).  I wholeheartedly believe La Grande is the best work I’ve ever done, and can’t wait to share it with everyone.  Here is the cover!

Please stay tuned for tour dates and release parties!

Next week, I will be heading back to Europe to play a handful of solo shows, including an appearance at the Viennale Film Festival, and a few dates in Spain.

I have been home from the UK tour for a couple of weeks, finding myself checking out non-fiction books from the Sellwood Library (concurrently learning about Germany in the 1930′s and neurosciences), baking apple treats, chasing crows, and making sure the trailer studio will be water tight and warm for the winter.

The trailer is looking mighty fine inside, with new curtains, and lots of air plants.  I’m hoping to do somehow pull off some mini-trailer shows before the record is out.

Keep up with what I’m doing on Facebook!  I’ll be posting lots of pictures from my travels in coming weeks.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Laura-Gibson/58016498710

Much love and many autumn songs,

lg.

Greetings friends!

It is a blustery day in London, I have a head full of Mary Poppins’ songs, and tonight we begin UK tour! We’ll be making a guest appearance this evening for Peggy Sue’s Record release part, then heading out for two weeks with buddies/heroes Richmond Fontaine. I will be accompanied by Sean Ogilvie, and as many Richmond Fontaine members as we can steal. Come say hello, and by all means, send us your food/sightseeing recommendations for any these towns.

Here are the dates:
Sept. 12 London The Lexington w/ Peggy Sue
Sept. 15 Manchester Academy 3 *
Sept 16 Oxford Bullingdon Arms*
Sept 17 Exeter The Phoenix*
Sept 18 Winchester The Railway*
Sept 19 Bristol The Tunnels*
Sept 20 Sheffield The Greystones*
Sept 21 Leeds Brudenell Social Club*
Sept 22 Glasgow Stereo*
Sept 23 Newcastle The Cluny*
Sept 24 Bedford The Civic*
Sept 25 Norwich Arts Centre*
Sept 26 Nottingham The Glee Club*
Sept 27 London Scala*
* w/ Richmond Fontaine

with much love and sincere enthusiasm,
lg