Laura Veirs

Biography

Laura Pauline Veirs (born October 24, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter based in Portland, Oregon. She is known for her folk and alternative country records and live performances as well as her collaboration with Neko Case and k.d. lang on the case/lang/veirs project. Veirs has written a children's book and hosts a podcast about parenting and performing.

Early life and education

Veirs graduated from General William J. Palmer High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
In 1997, Veirs graduated from Carleton College, where she was a geology major and studied Mandarin Chinese. During this time, she worked as a translator for a geological expedition in China.

Career

Growing up, Veirs heard folk-country, classical, and pop music at home. However, according to herself, she did not "listen seriously," until she was in her twenties.
At Carleton, she joined all-girl punk band Rair Kx! After graduation, her taste moved to older country and folk, and during her time in China she began writing lyrics.
In 1999, Veirs released her eponymous debut studio album, which was recorded live and featuring just herself and guitar. 2003 saw the release of Troubled by the Fire, accompanied by veteran musicians such as Bill Frisell. She then signed to Nonesuch and released Carbon Glacier (2004). She also signed to Bella Union for European distribution. Year of Meteors followed in August 2005, and was selected by The New York Times as a "critic's choice".
Veirs released her final studio album for Nonesuch, Saltbreakers×Saltbreakers17 March 2007 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Pink Light4:042Ocean Night Song3:083Don’t Lose Yourself4:014Drink Deep4:365Wandering Kind3:316Nightingale3:127Saltbreakers3:208To the Country5:099Cast a Hook in Me3:2010Phantom Mountain3:1211Black Butterfly2:2012Wrecking3:4913Bright Glittering Gifts4:44, in 2007.
In January 2010, Veirs released July Flame on her own Raven Marching Band Records. The album received praise from The Washington Post's Express tabloid, among other publications.
In November 2011, Veirs released the album Tumble Bee×Tumble Bee7 November 2011 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Little Lap-Dog Lullaby2:062Prairie Lullaby3:423Jack Can I Ride?1:564Tumblebee2:365King Kong Kitchie Kitchie Ki Me O2:586All the Pretty Little Horses2:167The Fox2:148Jump Down Spin Around1:519Why Oh Why3:3110Down in the Medder0:3111Soldier's Joy2:4912Jamaica Farewell2:5113Prairie Dream1:22: Laura Veirs Sings Folk Songs for Children. The album presented mostly traditional songs, and featured an array of guest musicians, including Colin Meloy, Jim James and Béla Fleck. Tumble Bee won a Parents' Choice Award in 2012.
In September 2012, her first feature film soundtrack was released: Hello I Must Be Going×Hello I Must Be Going11 September 2012 · OtherSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1I Can See Your Tracks (Instrumental)3:062The Fox2:143Where Are You Driving (Instrumental)2:534Little Lap Dog Lullaby2:055July Flame (Instrumental)3:486Make Something Good4:147Tumblebee (Instrumental)2:368Drink Deep4:369Prairie Dream (Instrumental)1:2110Carol Kaye (Instrumental)2:4811Song My Friends Taught Me4:3212Little Deschutes (Instrumental)4:0713Silo Song (Instrumental)2:3814Spring Song3:41, for the movie of the same name. The exclusive soundtrack featured eight instrumental versions of previously released songs, five catalog favorites and one new vocal track, "Spring Song".
In August 2013, she released Warp & Weft. In 2015, she worked on the album Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens. Veirs' long term collaborator and then husband, Tucker Martine, engineered some of the album.
Veirs was lead songwriter for the 2016 album case/lang/veirs, a collaborative project between Veirs, k.d. lang and Neko Case. The album received positive reviews and a Metacritic rating of 82.
In April 2018, she released her tenth studio album The Lookout×The Lookout13 April 2018 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Margaret Sands2:582Everybody Needs You2:553Seven Falls4:054Mountains of the Moon4:165Watch Fire2:366Heavy Petals2:397The Lookout2:048The Meadow2:429The Canyon3:4210Lightning Rod3:2011When It Grows Darkest4:3112Zozobra2:45 on her own label Raven Marching Band in North American and Bella Union in the rest of the world. It was a concept album about the fragility of precious things. It featured contributions from Sufjan Stevens, Jim James and was produced by Tucker Martine. Earlier, in January 2018, she had launched a podcast, Midnight Lightning, about the lives of musician parents. The first season featured weekly interviews with 14 mother musicians such as Corin Tucker (Sleater-Kinney), Carol Kaye, Rosanne Cash, Rhiannon Giddens, Meshell Ndegeocello, Amanda Bergman among others. In early 2018, Chronicle Books published her first picture book, Libba: The Magnificent Musical Life of Elizabeth Cotten. A story about the influential American folk and blues musician Elizabeth Cotten (aka "Libba") it was illustrated by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh. Libba was a Junior Library Guild selection and received the Parents' Choice Award.
On Valentine's Day 2020, Veirs released the song "I Was a Fool×I Was a Fool14 February 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1I Was a Fool2:44", exploring her divorce. In July, her eleventh studio album My Echo×My Echo23 October 2020 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Freedom Feeling3:212Another Space and Time4:353Turquoise Walls2:394Memaloose Island3:355End Times3:076Burn Too Bright3:007Brick Layer2:318All the Things3:289I Sing to the Tall Man3:1010Vapor Trails4:34 was made available for pre-order with a scheduled release in October. Veirs continued to write and record, finishing most of an album's worth of material by the time, My Echo, was released. In 2022, Veirs co-produced her first studio album Found Light×Found Light8 July 2022 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Autumn Song3:382Ring Song3:133Seaside Haiku3:084Naked Hymn4:005My Lantern3:016Signal4:117Can't Help But Sing3:008Eucalyptus4:279New Arms2:5810Sword Song2:5511Time Will Show You4:0712T & O2:2013Komorebi2:2114Winter Windows2:54 with Shahzad Ismaily.
Phone Orphans, an album of demos that Veirs recorded on her iPhone, was released in 2023. In the same year she recorded a live album at a show at Brooklyn's The Owl Parlor. It was released 2024, called Laura Veirs and Her Band – Live in Brooklyn. It featured her band mates Shahzad Ismaily, Sam Amidon, Karl Blau and Charlotte Greve. Veirs was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame in October, 2024.
Veirs' album Temple Songs×Temple Songs14 August 2026 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Arc Still Bends2:272Golden Seams3:233Pulse3:344Feeling Returns2:375Flying Into Darkness2:586Colors Sing1:347Out From Undercover2:328New Life Over There1:559No Masters3:0410River's Song2:3911Sunlight and Doom2:29 was released in August 2026.

Touring band members

Laura Veirs – vocals, guitar, banjo
Eli Moore – bass, guitar, synthesizers
Eyvind Kang – viola
Karl Blau – guitar, bass, saxophone, keyboards, vocals
Steve Moore – piano, keyboards, bells, euphonium, vocals

Production

Tucker Martine was a producer on many of the albums including Carbon Glacier×Carbon Glacier19 April 2004 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Ether Sings3:452Icebound Stream3:043Rapture3:074Lonely Angel Dust2:385The Cloud Room2:536Wind Is Blowing Stars2:447Shadow Blues4:218Anne Bonny Rag2:169Snow Camping3:1210Chimney Sweeping Man3:1311Salvage a Smile1:5212Blackened Anchor2:0613Riptide4:17, Year of Meteors×Year of Meteors23 August 2005 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Fire Snakes4:572Galaxies3:363Secret Someones5:164Magnetized2:375Parisian Dream3:066Rialto4:007Through the Glow2:428Cool Water2:529Spelunking3:0610Black Gold Blues3:1211Where Gravity Is Dead3:4012Lake Swimming6:5413[untitled]1:40, Saltbreakers×Saltbreakers17 March 2007 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Pink Light4:042Ocean Night Song3:083Don’t Lose Yourself4:014Drink Deep4:365Wandering Kind3:316Nightingale3:127Saltbreakers3:208To the Country5:099Cast a Hook in Me3:2010Phantom Mountain3:1211Black Butterfly2:2012Wrecking3:4913Bright Glittering Gifts4:44, July Flame×July Flame11 January 2010 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 13 tracks1I Can See Your Tracks2:592July Flame3:473Sun Is King3:214Where Are You Driving?2:545Life Is Good Blues2:376Silo Song2:417Little Deschutes4:088Summer Is the Champion4:269When You Give Your Heart3:0610Sleeper in the Valley4:0411Wide-Eyed, Legless2:3712Carol Kaye3:2113Make Something Good4:14, Tumble Bee and Warp & Weft.

Raven Marching Band Records

Veirs runs a record label, Raven Marching Band Records, that has released her own and other artists' music. In 2016, the label released Introducing Karl Blau, which was crowdfunded.

Style

In 2007, Veirs said about her lyrics, "I like to be personal in my writing, but not overly confessional."
Many of her lyrics are inspired by literary works. The song "Saltbreakers×Saltbreakers17 March 2007 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Pink Light4:042Ocean Night Song3:083Don’t Lose Yourself4:014Drink Deep4:365Wandering Kind3:316Nightingale3:127Saltbreakers3:208To the Country5:099Cast a Hook in Me3:2010Phantom Mountain3:1211Black Butterfly2:2012Wrecking3:4913Bright Glittering Gifts4:44" on her sixth studio album Saltbreakers (2007) was partially inspired by A. S. Byatt's Possession (1990). Another song on the same album, "Don't Lose Yourself×Don't Lose Yourself12 March 2007 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Don't Lose Yourself4:022Bright Glittering Gifts4:43", was partially inspired by José Saramago's novel, Blindness (1995). T. S. Eliot was an inspiration for the song "Margaret Sands" on The Lookout.

Personal life

Veirs lives in Portland, Oregon. Around 2000, Veirs married Tucker Martine, who has collaborated with her musically. Veirs and Martine had two children, born 2010 and 2013. In November 2019, Veirs announced she and Martine were divorcing. In the summer of 2024, Veirs announced her engagement to Reed College music professor and ethnomusicologist Morgan Luker. Veirs and Luker married on June 28, 2025 in Portland, Oregon at Mississippi Studios.

Works and publications

Veirs, Laura; Fazlalizadeh, Tatyana (illustrated by) (2018). Libba: The Magnificent Musical Life of Elizabeth Cotten. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-1-452-14858-8. OCLC 1001572148.