Laura Cortese

Laura Cortese has built a distinguished career as an Americana fiddler, songwriter and vocalist. She is now one of the most in-demand musical collaborators on the folk circuit. She grew up in San Francisco, CA and moved to Boston, MA to study at Berklee College of Music, immersing herself in the city’s vibrant indie music scene and enjoying a busy touring-and-studio career which included appearances with Band of Horses at Carnegie Hall and Pete Seeger at Newport Folk Festival.

She tours internationally with her band, the Dance Cards – bold and elegant, schooled in the lyrical rituals of folk music and backed by grooves that alternatively inspire Cajun two-stepping and rock ’n’ roll hip swagger. Laura Cortese & the Dance Cards have appeared at venues and festivals throughout the US, UK, Sweden, Canada, India, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Estonia, Montenegro, Greece and Bangladesh pairing sophisticated string arrangements (two fiddles, cello & bass) and rich vocal harmonies with poignant and powerful singing.

After she left California to study at the Berklee school of Music in Boston, she founded the music camp Miles of Music Camp and festival BCMfest. Laura has taught violin and singing at Newcastle University in England and the University of Limerick in Ireland. She regularly gives violin, singing and dance workshops at many fiddle camps: Alasdair Fraser’s Valley of the Moon Fiddle School, Mark O’ Connor’s Nashville Fiddle Camp, Sierra Fiddle Camp (US), Folkworks Youth Summer School in Newcastle (UK) and Fiddlers on the Move.

photo © Beth Chalmers