folk music

Indie Music Women’s Featured Artist of the Day is…

Chloe Lawrence (@chloelawrencemusic)

Chloe Lawrence is a Spanish-Essex, feminist, street-musician folk fairy. From her bohemian roots in the mountains of Spain, Chloe has been forged in the folk revelations of the ’60s. Her natural wanderlust led her to revelously dance barefoot with her audience at beach parties and juxtaposed this with contemplative intimate sets, where the ethos of her style showcased the classical elements of folk music whilst syngergising it with her own fierce independent modernity.

Chloe began playing on the street regularly in Cardiff, where you could hit Queen Street and be charmed by the vulnerable optimism of her honest story-telling matched by the poetically dynamic intricacies of her voice. It was during this time that Chloe was asked to play for Cardiff Sofar Sounds, to become part of the female musician’s collective ‘Sweet Pea’ and later to support Brooke Sharkey at her headline show in Gwdihw.

The multi-instrumentalist and writer is now loosely based in Manchester (although more commonly in her LWB Transit van) where, over the past year, she has played at a number of the cities most reputable independent venues, including The Castle Hotel and Gulliver’s; appearing as special guest supporting the likes of Sailing Stones and Petal. In the summer of 2019, Chloe also performed at Manchester’s ‘Dot to Dot’ festival on ‘The Rose and Monkey’ stage.

Over the coming year, Chloe plans to release her first EP, which she is currently putting the finishing touches to, in time to coincide with a fierce and intimate all-female gig at The Castle Hotel in May, which is to be hosted by the artist herself – the second in a series of similar showcases she envisions organising. Meanwhile, Chloe continues to enjoy working with her newly formed backing band; whom she is excited to be taking with her to perform at Elderflower Fields Festival in May this year and will continue to play on the streets of cities all over the UK and beyond. (Editor’s note: This information was provided before the current pandemic crises).

Chloe’s debut album, Cafe, will be released on May 3, 2020.  You can pre-order it here.

Chloe shared with me what it means to her to be an indie music woman artist:

“Being a girl with a guitar who writes songs, the requirement to ‘be pretty’ in every sense is apparent. To write and perform in ways which remain within the realm of comfort for the audience; somewhat whimsical, mystical, apologetic – avoiding any kind of controversy, feels instinctively like the right thing to do. As a female musician, I enable a voice with which to change this perception of women in the industry and encourage female artists to share and support each other in an industry where it seems we are so often pushed towards comparison and envy.”