Folk trio Lau set for 10th anniversary show in Shrewsbury
One of the nation’s favourite folk bands is returning to Shropshire to celebrate its 10th anniversary.
Lau have won the Best Group Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards on four separate occasions – in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2013.
And they are heading to Wem Town Hall on November 19 as part of a major UK tour that starts in Builth Wells on November 16 and concludes on December 9 in Scotland.
The band have previously played at Shrewsbury Folk Festival and are looking forward to being back in Shropshire.
Pianist and accordionist Martin Green said: “We really look forward to the live shows and the tour. We love playing.
“We’ve had chance to think about the show and we get a whole night with the audience. The headline shows are very different to our festival performances.
“With festivals, they’re always busy and you get to see your pals on the road. But the shows are quite rushed – it’s very much get-on-get-off.
“With the headline shows, we don’t just have to bang out the songs. We get to create something special with the audience.”
Lau is the pioneering contemporary folk trio comprising three of the UK’s finest traditional musicians: Kris Drever, Aiden O’Rourke (fiddle) and Green.
In addition to winning BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and appearing on the Later… With Jools Holland TV show (BBC 2 TV), individual members have all won multiple awards and recognition for their solo work.
Drever was nominated for 2017 Folk Singer of The Year and Best Original Track while Green was nominated for 2017 Best Album and Best Original Track BBC Folk Awards.
Green added: “The present show will be two halves. There’ll be an acoustic set, which will reflect on the first 10 years of the band. Then there’ll be an exploratory electronic set.”
The band members had wanted to work together for some years before forming Lau, though they didn’t realise how successful they would become./
Green said: “We were all surprised when it became our primary source of employment. We were all working as musicians in other bands before Lau, but then it took over. We started this because we wanted to play together. Before this, we’d sit around and play in Aiden’s kitchen. We didn’t think it would get to the point where we’d make our living from it.”
The band enjoyed rapid success, following the release of their debut album Lightweights and Gentlemen. Awards, sell-out tours and TV slots followed. Now, ten years on, the band are releasing a Best Of, featuring 13 of their most popular songs.
The raft of award wins has helped the band.
Green said: “It happened pretty quickly and was very exciting. The awards are entirely subjective and constructed and all of that – but they have been very useful to us too.”
Lau enjoy playing in Shropshire and believe the town’s internationally-renowned folk festival will have a lasting legacy, inspiring a new generation of youngsters to play music.
“The folk scene in Britain is wonderful because it’s very inclusive and very support. The audiences and bands are always encouraging.
“I grew up in Cambridge, which also has a folk festival. That makes a big difference because music seems to be present all year round. I think the same might be the case for Shrewsbury. That’s a hugely successful event that grew very quickly. We like playing out towards the west of the country, things always seem a little calmer there.”
