Laura Veirs with Karl Blau

Laura Veirs plays The Cedar Cultural Center on Saturday, October 17, with Karl Blau joining her on stage. Veirs is a Portland singer-songwriter known for songs of romantic intimacy, everyday vignettes, and social commentary that lean on introspection and character scrutiny. This is her twelfth studio album cycle, and the set will draw from her most recent work.

Her 2022 album Found Light felt in many ways like a debut: it was her first record with co-production credits, shared with Shahzad Ismaily, and a declaration of artistic autonomy. She pushed that independence further with Temple Songs (2025), which she wrote and recorded entirely by herself over three months in her backyard 'Temple of Bloom' studio. For that record, she embraced the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi—finding beauty in imperfection—and eschewed click tracks and electronic instruments.

Karl Blau, from the Skagit Valley north of Seattle, has been a long-time collaborator. He played bass and guitar on Carbon Glacier, Year of Meteors, Saltbreakers, and July Flame, and appears on Tumble Bee. Outside of his work with Veirs, he's produced widely for the Anacortes label K and run the Kelp! record-a-month project.

The Cedar sits in Cedar Riverside, one of Minneapolis's most prolific neighborhoods for live music and home to the largest Somali diaspora in the US. Doors open at 7 PM and the show starts at 8 PM.