Laura Jansen Live in Portland, Oregon

Laura Jansen, Crystal Ballroom Portland, Orewgon 2011

We recently caught on to a new artist, Laura Jansen, who has been supporting Joshua Radin on his current tour and who previously was playing in Joshua’s band. We saw Laura open for Joshua Radin at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland. It was as expected a very intimate and personal experience. We were fortunate to have gotten there early as the venue was packed to capacity and there was practically no way out once Laura began her set. As you can see from the photos Laura has a really warm and inviting personality on stage, great interaction with her audience.  We first were introduced to her music video, “Single Girls”, (official and live versions) and instantly fell in love with her sweet angelic voice.

On stage she told her story of how Joshua Radin rescued her from a dead end overworked job as a waitress and how he invited her to come on tour with him.  Laura’s set was consisted of songs off her just released debut album, Bells, a dreamy collection of piano-driven indie-pop songs which has already gone platinum in Jansen’s native Holland, propelled by “Single Girls” and a stunning cover of Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody,” which has spent more than a year lodged in the Top 10 on the Dutch singles chart.  Laura’s live delivery of the KOL cover was stunning. Be on the lookout for more good things from this artist and good you you Joshua for helping her get a start here in the US.