Laura Pauline Veirs (born October 24, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter based out of Portland, Oregon. She is known for her folk/alternative country records and live performances as well as her collaboration with Neko Case and k.d. lang on the case/lang/veirs project. Veirs has written a children's book and hosts a podcast about parenting and performing. Early life and education Veirs graduated from General William J. Palmer High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1997, Veirs graduated from Carleton College, where she was a geology major and studied Mandarin Chinese. During this time, she worked as a translator for a geological expedition in China. Career Growing up, Veirs heard folk-country, classical, and pop music at home; however, she did not "listen seriously," she says, until in her 20s. At Carleton, she joined all-girl punk band, Rair Kx! After graduation, her taste moved to older country and folk, and during her time in China she began writing lyrics. In 1999, Veirs released a self-titled album, which was recorded live and featuring just herself and guitar. 2003 saw the release of Troubled by the Fire, accompanied by veteran musicians such as Bill Frisell. She then signed to Nonesuch and released Carbon Glacier. She also signed to Bella Union for European distribution. Year of Meteors followed in August 2005, and was selected by the New York Times as a "critic's choice". Veirs released her final album for Nonesuch, Saltbreakers, in 2007. In January 2010, Veirs released July Flame on her own Raven Marching Band Records. The album received praise from The Washington Post among other publications. In November 2011, Veirs released the album Tumble Bee: Laura Veirs Sings Folk Songs for Children. The album presented mostly traditional songs, and featured an array of guest musicians, including Colin Meloy, Jim James and Béla Fleck. Tumble Bee won a Parents' Choice Award in 2012. In September 2012, her first feature film soundtrack was released: Hello I Must Be Going, for the movie of the same name. The exclusive soundtrack featured eight instrumental versions of previously released songs, five catalog favorites and one new vocal track, "Spring Song". In August 2013, she released Warp & Weft. In 2015, she worked on the album Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens. Veirs' long term collaborator and then husband, Tucker Martine, engineered some of the album. Veirs was lead songwriter for the 2016 album case/lang/veirs, a collaborative project between