It was quite an astounding year for Welsh, Nashville loving songstress LAURA EVANS with the release of her debut EP that saw her truly making her mark on the country/blues scene. Laura’s first single from the EP charted straight at number one on the UK blues chart and peaked at 43 on the US blues chart as well as follow up singles “Drag Me back In” & “Solo” following suit, acquiring several Spotify & Apple music editorial playlists including ‘Nu-Blue’ & “Blues Drive” curated by Heidi Shenk, alongside US artists like Larkin Poe and Dave Stewart ‘Very Nearly Nashville’ and Apple Music’s ‘New In Country’playlist alongside Taylor Swift & Eric Church.
We spoke to Laura, who we can rightly claim as our own, as she comes from Aberdare, and as she told us recently, no matter where she is in the world, it’s a place she’ll forever call home. And when we say home, we really mean it. In fact she not only comes from Aberdare, but she wrote a song all about the place she loves so much.
You can find out more about the song, and Laura herself, in our original interview with her, right HERE.
The EP we talked about in that interview racked up thousands of streams in the first week of release resulting in this latest single being acquired and distributed worldwide by U-NXT c/o Universal Music. Laura has received continued support from BBC Radio Wales, with 4 A Listed singles airplay on Planet Rock, Chris Country Radio, Country HitsRadio and Absolute Radio Country.
Of course, with that sort of success, it’s inevitable that Laura is keen to get back on the road to play them to her fans. This will be the first run of live performances for Laura since early 2020. Eager to get back on stage to showcase all her new music with a full band, these power-house shows will be something you do not want to miss! Laura kicks off the first run of summer shows at The Sound Lounge, Sutton on 2nd July.
Paul Sexton writer and broadcaster (BBC radio 2 The Sunday Times, Billboard, Music Week) and patron for the successful grassroots venue said
“We really hope to see you on July 2nd some fine British talent, Laura’s sassy country-pop has taken her from the valleys of south Wales to the C2C Festival, a guest slot with The Shires and numerous Spotify playlists”
We put a Zoom call in to Laura to find out what she’s been up to during lockdown 2.0. How the songwriting has been going, and of course the upcoming tour. She also told us about her first live performance which took place in London recently.
We are SOUTH WALES LIFE and happened to notice there isn’t a local date on this tour, so of course we had to mention that too. Don’t worry – Laura is on the case right now, with plans in place to play a home venue.
Following on from the Sutton date Laura will double headline the Theatre On the Steps in Shropshire 10th July, with young Blues artist of the year Conor Selby before playing the Main Stage at Buckle & Boots Festival Manchester on 2nd August and then heading back to London for a headline show 13th August at Pizza Express Live, Holborn.
Laura will continue her second run of shows in the Autumn with a headline show at the Uckfield Civic Centre on 1st October, playing the Mowlem Theatre at the Swanage Blues Festival on the 2nd October, supporting Jo Harman in concert at the Exeter Phoenix 21st October as well as being confirmed as part of a very impressive line-up for the January Blues Festival with APMG early next year.
All the shows will also feature an excellent band “The Company” featuring Nat Martin, Carl Hudson, Martin Johnson and Steve Watts.
To get yourself tickets for Laura’s dates and to see what she’s up to right now, jut head over to her website – LAURA EVANS. Or you can check individual venues below.
- Pizza Express Live Holborn, London 13th August – Tickets £15 going on sale this week
- Uckfield Centre, East Sussex October 1st – Tickets £15 HERE
- Swanage Blues Fest – Ticket price tbc and go on sale as of July October 2nd
- Exeter Phoenix, Exeter October 21st – Tickets (£12 early bird) £14 HERE
- Blues Festival, London January 23rd – Tickets (£10 early bird) £15 HERE