STREETS OF LAREDO play Constellation Room Dec. 5, Teragram Ballroom Dec. 6, The Casbah Dec. 7; photo Jessie Sara English
Streets of Laredo is soon coming to the streets of Southern California. The up and coming folk band is scheduled to play The Constellation Room Dec. 5, Teragram Ballroom Dec. 6 and The Casbah Dec. 7.
The band is currently on tour to promote their latest album Wild. They also have been tasked with being one of two openings bands for the Los Angeles rock group CRX, guitarist Nick Valensi’s (The Strokes) new band.
Sarahjane Gibson, the lead singer and percussionist for Streets of Laredo, spoke positively about the tour so far as she and her fellow band members head to California.
“We’ve been out for about two weeks and we’re going to take a little break before we come over to the west coast and it’s been awesome.”
It is worth noting that the group’s upcoming performance in California ends a two-year absence from the region. Despite this lengthy absence, Gibson is eager to play here once again.
“I think the West Coast does have a slightly more fun, upbeat kind of vibe,” Gibson said. “I like playing on the West Coast because the vibe is good there.”
Streets of Laredo hails from the east coast, specifically Brooklyn, where the group was first formed by brothers Dean and Dave Gibson in 2012 shortly after moving from New Zealand.
Gibson says that the presence of both Dean and Dave, who is also her husband, are an essential element to the band’s success both in terms of their music but as a positive mood.
“I sort of feel like it makes us all feel quite comfortable,” Gibson said. “I feel like there’s a kind of family band vibe and they think very much alike.”
STREETS OF LAREDO
Streets of Laredo is best characterized by its focus on acoustics and trying to achieve the best possible acoustics for their primarily upbeat folk melodies.
“We really care about trying to make the groove of our songs the natural kind of choir for the songs we do through percussions and drumming,” said Gibson. “I feel like it’s really diverse.”
To achieve that acoustic groove, Streets of Laredo adopt a fearless approach in trying all sorts of instruments. Their experiments typically tend to succeed as can be evidenced by the immense critical praise from critics and fans.
Their latest experiment has been introduced on Wild with acoustics produced through a mixture of traditional instruments and synthesizers. It’s a combination that’s again netting the band high praise.
But this approach isn’t just limited to the studio but is a general, all-encompassing approach for Streets of Laredo that extends to concerts too.
“We really do have that attitude of if you’re gonna do something you have go all in,” said Gibson. ”And then when we do tour or are making albums we do really kind of commit to it and try and find meaning in it.”
For Gibson, trying to please fans through their recordings is just as important as pleasing them on-stage. The band tries to make every performance memorable and fun for concertgoers. She is usually able to tell when the band has accomplished that.
“We had a wonderful show in Portland on our last tour of the west coast. That ended up with all of the band out on the stage with all of the audience and it was quite a beautiful, moving thing. It felt really special.”