Laura Veirs crafts musical portraits shaped by daily life, family, and the broader dynamics she encounters through international touring, the record business, and motherhood. Her 15th studio album, Temple Songs, arrives August 14 and features the single “Flying Into Darkness,” which she describes as joyous, “but also dark.” Veirs’ musical path has been marked by constant evolution: while studying at Carleton College, she formed the all-female group Rair Kx, and her 1999 self-titled debut leaned heavily into punk. By the time she recorded The Triumphs and Travails of Orphan Mae (2001)—one of her personal favorites of her catalogue—she was exploring bluegrass and country influences, later incorporating more melancholic, blues-inflected tones while maintaining her folk roots, as heard in tracks like “Tom Skookum Road.” In her next album, Carbon Glacier (2004), she introduced more electronic textures, notably on the percussive opener “The Cloud Room.” Year of Meteors (2005) leaned into a rock-infused folk sound, while Saltbreakers (2007) pushed toward a rawer, more experimental edge, with its track “Drink Deep” appearing in the soundtrack to the film Hello I Must Be Going (2012), starring Melanie Lynskey. Her 2010 album July Flame—named after a peach she encountered at a farmers’ market—features one of multiple collaborations with Jim James of My Morning Jacket. She followed this with Tumble Bee (2011), a children’s folk album, and Warp & Weft (2013), recorded during her pregnancy. Over the next couple of years, Laura collaborated with artists like Sufjan Stevens —contributing backing vocals to “Should Have Known Better” on his album Carrie & Lowell (2015) —and Neko Case, with whom she formed the supergroup (and released their eponymous album), case/lang/veirs (2016), alongside k.d. lang. Her later work reflects both personal and cultural shifts: The Lookout (2018) channels anxiety surrounding the 2016 U.S. presidential election, while subsequent albums—including My Echo (2020), released at the onset of the pandemic, Found Light (2022), and Phone Orphans (2023)—demonstrate her fluid, impactful genre-blending talent and ability. Within the music world, she has also hosted the podcast Midnight Lightning, which features interviews with musicians who communicate their approach towards balancing parenthood and artistry, with guests including legendary bassist Carol Kaye and Rosanna Arquette. In our conversation, we discussed her move to the Pacific Northwest in the early 2000s, her evolving musical influences, maintaining a self-care routine, balancing life as an artist and parent, and her upcoming tour across Europe and North America. Opening Credits: Pierce Murphy - The Shadow Of The Bluff I CC BY 4.0; The Top One Percent - Cavalier I CC BY 4.0. Closing Credits: Podington Bear - Surface Tension I CC BY-NC 3.0.
