With songs that range from sassy rockers to ballads, covering topics from pets to television and every angle on love imaginable performer extraordinaire, Laura Kemp (has the) ability to make an audience chuckle, tear up, and feel an instant connection with her lyrics - all in the course of one song. San Francisco Bay Guardian

Consistently winning the Eugene Weekly reader’s poll for Best Local Singer-Songwriter, Laura Kemp has gained a reputation as one of the finest performers in the Northwest. She has been a fixture on the folk scene since moving to Oregon in 1990 and over the past 18 years has produced 5 studio albums as well as two live CD’s with the power girl group, Babes With Axes.

A singer and guitarist since the age of 8, she began performing while living in Germany in 1987, honing her skills in Irish pubs and busking in the streets. Accompanying herself on guitar, harmonica, and occasionally the banjo, her musical style is not one to be pegged down, though it is largely rooted in folk and influenced by her time spent living in Nashville and North Carolina.

In her 20 year career she has performed on numerous stages throughout the country, including Passim in Cambridge, MA, CBGB’s Gallery in NYC, Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, CA, The Great American Music Hall in San Fransisco, The Crystal Ballroom in Portland, OR, Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle, Bald Eagle Music Festival in Haines, AK, Chamizal Festival in El Paso, TX, Bighorn Mountain Festival in Sheridan, WY, and in her hometown, Eugene, OR on the main stage of the Oregon Country Fair, the Willamette Valley Folk Festival, and the Eugene Celebration.

These days you can hear her playing in a variety of configurations: as a dynamic solo artist who can easily hold her own in any performance setting; as a duo with upright bassist, Elijah Copeland; fronting the Laura Kemp Band with Brian West on drums, Elijah on bass, and Jeremy Wegner on mandolin and banjo; or with her alter-ego band, 3 on the Tree, a jazz standards trio with Eli on bass and Scott Jensen on trumpet.