In Conversation With Colin: Laura Evans

Laura Evans was born and raised in Aberdare and is making a name for herself as an up-and-coming singer and songwriter, known for combining genres from blues and soul to Americana. With over two million Spotify streams and increasing radio airplay, Laura has enjoyed sell-out tours across the UK and Europe with her energetic and dynamic live shows. Her brand new album titled What I’m Made Of was released in August; inspired by her mother’s words of encouragement, it’s a message of empowerment produced by Nick Atkinson and mastered at Abbey Road Studios. Colin Palmer recently caught up with Laura as she embarks on a solo tour of the UK.

Earlier this year you returned to Aberdare and performed in St Elvans Church at the Caradogfest Gala Concert, how did you feel singing again in your home town?

It was so lovely, I haven’t sung in my hometown of Aberdare since I was around 12 years old so it was lovely to be available to perform and also sing my special song “Take me back Home” which is inspired by my hometown and my journey since leaving.

The following day you travelled to North Wales and performed with your own band supporting blues rockers King King, despite being two diverse audiences, do you find it easy to adapt your live performance according to the venue and audience?

Yes, it was a very different show with King King but I do love these type of gigs and I love rocking out with my band. King King are the most amazing band with great fans, it was a packed out venue and it was a pleasure to warm up the crowd, I think I made a few new fans in North Wales.

You are receiving considerable radio airplay with support from Planet Rock’s Elles Bailey and have recently appeared live on BBC Radio 2 with Cerys Matthews on her blues show, how was that experience?

 It was a wonderful and almost surreal experience stepping inside the BBC Radio 2 studio for the interview with Cerys, and she was so lovely and she made me feel so welcome! It was amazing to talk about all things music and my journey to a fellow welsh woman in music, live on air. BBC Radio 2 has been a huge support to me as an independent artist and I’m just so grateful to get that recognition from them.

There’s an upcoming tour with Walter Trout later this year and you are on the road with blues legend Kim Wilson and The Fabulous Thunderbirds in January 2025, are you broadening your fan-base more towards blues audiences than previously?

Yes it seems I have landed quite a lot of support gigs with huge Blues legends which is so exciting, I am flattered that the promoters of these tours think I’m a good fit to warm up the crowd. I definitely pull from a lot of genres when writing songs, blues, rock, soul and even a little country so it’ll be amazing to sing these songs live to Blues fans. I’m really looking forward to playing these big venues to big crowds, it’s very exciting and playing live is my favourite thing.

You have a deep affection for Acapela Studio in Pentyrch, what is it that appeals to you so much about that venue? 

Yes I do love Acapela Studios, I was looking for a place to record a live session with my band in Wales and it’s the perfect venue for that. I recorded 2 songs live there and asked my friend Chris Buck to come along and play guitar, so my band and I went down and jammed and recorded and filmed the session live with very little rehearsal, and we really captured some magic that day, it was so fun! Since then I have played some headline shows there and it’s just a great music venue, tucked away in the valleys of Pentyrch.

Laura Evans was chatting with Colin Palmer