Lau-Land Folk Festival lands at Howard Assembly Room this May
Folk music fills the Howard Assembly Room this month as the venue hosts Lau-Land, the acclaimed weekend festival curated by multi award-winning alt-folk trio Lau and recently performed at Edinburgh International Festival.
From Friday 17 – Sunday 19 May, audiences can experience and take part in a host of different events, from exhilarating live performances to workshops with the musicians, and even a family-friendly ceilidh.
With a unique collaboration with guest-headliner Jesca Hoop, participatory workshops led by Lau band members, the final UK performance on ‘Lau Unplugged’ tour and a Sunday afternoon ceilidh for all the family it's going to be a busy weekend, with an open music session in Kino to close the weekend celebrations.
Jesca Hoop kickstarts the celebrations with a welcome return to the Howard Assembly Room on Friday. California-born Hoop was discovered by Tom Waits and toured as a singer in Peter Gabriel’s band before moving to the UK following a call from Elbow’s Guy Garvey. Jesca joins forces with Lau in a one-off collaboration, as they take to the stage to open the festival together.
On Saturday, keen musicians will get a chance to learn from, and make music with, the professionals, as Lau’s band members run a series of participatory workshops at the Howard Opera Centre, Opera North’s home in the heart of Leeds. Aidan O’Rourke’s Fiddle Workshop helps
intermediate to advanced players fine tune their skills and find their flow, while Kris Drever asks participants to bring only ‘a guitar and your inquisitive nature’ to his Guitar Workshop. In the afternoon, accordionist Martin Green hosts a Mixed Instrument Workshop, where players of any instrument can learn more about composing traditional music and discover how Lau create their critically-acclaimed arrangements.
Later, the band regroup at the Howard Assembly Room for Lau Unplugged: a pared-back exploration of re-arranged and re-created material from across their catalogue. Weaving together influences from Scottish and Irish musical heritage, progressive art rock ideas and a playful sense
of theatre, Lau’s music is born from the melting pot of Edinburgh’s turn-of-the-century trad scene.
With electronics, loops and wild effects stripped away, the band’s extraordinary passion and musicianship take centre stage.
The festivities continue in the Howard Assembly Room on Sunday, with a lively Family Ceilidh where everyone is welcome. York-based band FiddlersWreck lead plenty of fun, simple dances with explanations along the way, as well as a few for more experienced toe-tappers.
Afterwards, Lau round off the weekend with a laid-back, traditional music session in Kino, Opera North’s restaurant and bar on New Briggate. Audiences are welcome to enjoy a drink while listening to the music or, even better (for the musicians in the room), get involved and play along.