Laeverick

Laeverick

Americana flavours, three part harmonies and powerful musicianship have been the focus of Laeverick's previous performances over the past 12 Festivals but now branching out into writing their own material, audiences can expect lots of new and original songs as part of their 2022 Shetland Folk Festival appearance.

Three singers from Burra, Rhonda Simpson, Jenny Keldie (nee Napier) and Mhari McLeman (nee Pottinger) formed Laeverick for the Thomas Fraser Festival back in 2006.   Core to their sound is a first class band made of up Ivor "Fred" Polson on bass and mandolin, Burra guitarist Trevor Smith, Jack Robertson on pedal steel and for their appearance at the Festival this year they will be joined by Orcandian musician, Erik Laughton on percussion.  The band have played multiple times in Orkney, incuding to a sold out headline shows at The Sound Archive, as part of Westray Connections and the Orkney Folk Festival too.

Whenever Laeverick perform they gather positive reviews and at the Thomas Fraser Festival in 2018, the Shetland Times reviewer wrote "Everyone will have their favourite band of the evening, whether they be local or imported, but for me it had to be Laeverick.  Their own compositions, Feel Fly off The Ground and Dance for You were simply outstanding...."

A recent Shetland Times reviewer said "Their harmonising is well perfected and like many singing collaborations may be a lifetiem pursuit often crafted in formative years.....The band rightly are still up there at the top - where the laeverick is apt to sing!"