Culture
Laura Gibson II 2019 Gladden House Sessions
By: Liz Penry
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Laura Gibson brought honest lyricism and graceful, heartwarming melodies to the Gladden House stage Saturday, June 8. Not only is the Oregon native a multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter, but she has also completed her MFA in writing, allowing her mastery of storytelling and language to take on a remarkably abstract elegance.
In her interview with Gladden House host Josh Antonuccio, Gibson explains that she was the very first of NPR’s Bob Boilen’s Tiny Desk performers. In 2009, Boilen left an Austin bar during the SXSW Music Festival frustrated that he couldn’t hear the inspiring folk singer in studio, and then insisted that she play at his desk instead. Now, 10 years later at the Nelsonville Music Festival, Gibson gave yet another authentic and stripped down performance.
Laura Gibson began her performance with “Slow Joke Grin” from her latest album Goners (Barsuk Records), following with title track from her Empire Builder album (Barsuk Records), and ending with “Thomas” from Goners. As an encore, she played John Prine’s “Everybody Wants to Feel Like You.”