Born in a small Oregon town, Laura Gibson seems to be a nature girl. Her work is ethereal. Her lyrics could be about relationships, to herself or songs written to the forests. Her voice is balmy with a vintage treble, whether covering a flirty "Little Red Riding Hood" by Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs, playing as an acoustic folk and flower girl, or singing songs like sea ballads, rising eerily from rocky coasts and creeping into the terrior. After a Euro/Tel-Aviv/Ugandan tour with Indie Mariachi band, Calexico, Gibson has returned to her native lands. She laid down a gospel style track for an album benefiting Deschutes River Conservancy, had a bonus track, “The Carob Trees”, featured on NPR and released her new album, La Grande. The album is a continued journey along Oregon’s topography, in part inspired by the town of La Grande and history within the Wallowa Valley. Songs such as "Milk Heavy, Pollen Eyed" offer the enchantment we know of Gibson, but much of the album lays down a more classic western styling with brushy percussion and mysterious growls and whispers under the songstress’s vocals. She is currently touring with the organic family of Typhoon who play a multi-instrumental set with 12 or more people on stage or sometimes in trees. Hopefully this will lead to collaborations during the show that will also feature local talent Lost Lander at the Crystal Ballroom on November 23rd. – Brandy Crowe
