Laura Anne Stevenson (born April 25, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter from

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, and formerly a

keyboard player A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instru ...

for the

musical collective Musical collective is a phrase used to describe a Musical ensemble, group of musicians in which membership is flexible and creative control is shared.Liisa Ladouceur"Collective Souls" ''This Magazine'', November/December 2004. The concept is dist ...

Bomb the Music Industry!

Life and career

Early life

Stevenson was raised in

Nassau County, New York Nassau County ( ) is a suburban County (United States), county located on Long Island, immediately to the east of New York City, bordering the Long Island Sound on the north and the open Atlantic Ocean to the south. As of the 2020 United St ...

. Her grandfather, Harry Simeone, was a successful pianist and composer whose works included " The Little Drummer Boy" and "

Do You Hear What I Hear? "Do You Hear What I Hear?" is a song written in October 1962, with lyrics by Noël Regney and music by Gloria Shayne. The pair, married at the time, wrote it as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Regney had been invited by a record ...

". His wife, Margaret McCravy, was a singer for the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

bandleader

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

. After leaving home for college, Stevenson began both playing guitar and writing

songs A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usuall ...

Musical career

Growing up in Rockville Centre, Stevenson befriended members of the Arrogant Sons of Bitches. After they disbanded in 2005, she was appointed keyboard player for the lead singer

Jeff Rosenstock Jeffrey Ernest Rosenstock (born September 7, 1982) is an American musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter from Long Island, New York. He is known for his former bands Bomb the Music Industry! and The Arrogant Sons of Bitches, as wel ...

's new project, Bomb the Music Industry!. At this point, she had written a number of songs and was performing solo. While recording and touring with Bomb the Music Industry!, she began to piece together her own band. Initially, Stevenson's band consisted primarily of members of Bomb the Music Industry!. In summer 2007, Stevenson met Michael Campbell of the

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band Latterman who began playing bass guitar in her band. Alex Billig was added on trumpet and accordion, and a year later Stevenson began working on her first studio recording.

Asian Man Records Asian Man Records is a DIY record label run by Mike Park in Monte Sereno, California. Park started a record label and began releasing music in 1989 under the name Dill Records, with the Asian Man label established in May 1996. History Asian Man ...

released "A Record" on April 13, 2010, on LP and CD. The group spent more than half of that year on tour in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Western Europe in various line-ups with Bomb the Music Industry!, Maps & Atlases, Cults, among others. The band officially signed to the

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

independent label

Don Giovanni Records Don Giovanni Records is an independent record label originally specializing in punk rock from the New Brunswick, New Jersey music scene but eventually working with a variety of artists from different genres. Its also operated out of Lansing, Mic ...

in November 2010, and their second album, '' Sit Resist'', was released on April 26, 2011. Stevenson's third full-length album, ''Wheel'', was produced and mixed by Kevin S. McMahon at Marcata Recording. It was released on April 23, 2013, on

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...

had previously premiered the first single from the album, "Runner". Stevenson toured the U.S. in April and May in support of the album. On October 30, 2015 Stevenson released her fourth album, ''Cocksure'', on

, and the band toured in the United States and Europe in support of the release. On December 7, 2016, Stevenson released her first live album, recorded at Vera Club and released it via Quote Unquote Records, with 100% of the proceeds being donated to

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization

. Stevenson's fifth studio album, '' The Big Freeze'', was released on March 29, 2019 and debuted on the

Billboard charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ' ...

at #11 Alternative New Artist Albums, #35 for Heatseekers Albums, and #41 for Current Alternative Albums. Her sixth album, '' Laura Stevenson'', was released on August 6, 2021. In 2023, Stevenson embarked on an 11-date tour in celebration of the 10-year anniversary of ''Wheel,'' performed reimagined renditions of the album's tracks. Stevenson was accompanied by an orchestral ensemble on the tour.https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/laura-stevenson/laura-stevenson-looks-back-on-10-years-of-wheel

Band members

*Laura Stevenson: guitar/vocals * Mike Campbell: bass guitar *Alex Billig: accordion/trumpet *Peter Naddeo: guitar *Samantha Niss: drums

Discography

Studio albums

Jeff and Laura

Singles, EPs, live releases

References

External links

Official websiteMaster Of Art – Laura Stevenson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Laura 1984 births Living people People from Long Island American women singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from New York (state) American folk singers American folk rock musicians Don Giovanni Records artists 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American women singers