“An unlikely heaven-sent artistic collision between Jackie Oates, Scott Skinner and ELO” R2 Magazine

Boston folk-pop darling Laura Cortese has enjoyed a stellar career including touring with Pete Seeger and Band of Horses. Yet, it is with her band, The Dance Cards that she has most recently been making a big impression. The band have just returned from a US State Department-sponsored tour to India, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan & Kazakhstan.  Cortese, speaking about the band’s experience performing abroad says, “From the first notes of every show, the electricity is palpable… The separation between stage and the audience seems to have never existed at all.”

The electricity of LCDC live shows vibrates from the stage. The trio’s creations are dark and ethereal: multi-textured gritty and personal original songs with plenty of inspiration from Americana and pop greats; songs that electrify and spellbind audiences the world over. While lush fiddle stylings root their music in a folk tradition, Cortese’s vocals are as modern and savvy as they come.  Mariel Vandersteel’s sensitive fiddle provides accompaniment, whilst Valerie Thompson’s rock-solid cello grooves and Natalie Bohrn’s driving bass ground Cortese’s dreamy, poetic voice. Seeing the quartet on stage, you get the sense that they might snap some fiddle strings or punch a hole in the bass drum. This is post-folk that seriously rocks.

In nominating the group for the R2 magazine’s Best of The Year accolade, staff writer David Innes declared that Laura Cortese and The Dance Cards had been his “most memorable gig” of the past twelve months, saying they “swung and rocked with constraint-free exuberance, tugging at and capturing the hearts of everyone.” Last time they toured here, Songlines magazine also drooled: “This was a celebration of American string playing par excellence,” while the fRoots folk magazine said the band was “powerful, gutsy and set to make musical waves.”