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Singer, fiddler and songwriter, Laura Cortese lights up the stage with a radiating smile, dazzling musicianship and uninhibited delight. The fiery combination of her Irish and Italian heritage delivers a unique blend of passion and humor. Cortese chops a mean fiddle behind her folk pop vocals. On her latest release, Even the Lost Creek (February 2006), she couples the groove and polish of urban music with universal themes of the old world.

Cortese attended Berklee College of music and while there perfomed with several bands including fiddle trio Halali formed with two childhood friends. “I had never really sung solo on stage before Halali. I realized songs are an amazing way to connect to an audience.” In an apartment across the street from Berklee College, Cortese set out to record her debut album Hush in 2002 (re-released on Jar productions 2003). Hush showcases 12 tracks of pop-inspired arrangement that captures the raw sincerity of traditional Celtic music.

After college, Cortese traveled from coast to coast, from Nashville to Montreal, performing and partying with musicians at the forefront of the burgeoning folk scene. In June 2004, at one such late night party, Cortese found a rare chemistry with Zack Hickman (producer of Even the Lost Creek) and Jesse Harper (guitar and harmony vocals). Cortese remembers, “We sat around singing songs after a show at Boston's Club Passim. We sang everything from jazz standard ‘Summer Time’ to Otis Redding’s ‘Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay’. The three of us huddled as close as we could." That night hinted at the sound they would generate when Cortese’s exquisite vocals met laid back swing, traditionally influenced folk song writing and a kicking rhythm section.

Stay tuned for news on Cortese's new album 'Even the Lost Creek'!