The Poison Oaks

The Poison Oaks began as a studio experiment for singer, songwriter and fiddler Laura Cortese. Originally an excuse to focus on experimentation and the process of making art, The Poison Oaks evolved into a full fledged collective album with fifteen members. In the fall of 2011 The Poison Oaks emerged with their 7" Pine: songbird vocals, triple tracked banjo, shredding guitars an indie rock folkestra with fiddle sometimes roaring and sometimes accompanying. Laura Cortese tours internationally with her band Laura Cortese & the Dance Cards. Welding the propulsive grace of folk styles to disarmingly open-hearted original rock songs, Laura Cortese is among the most intriguing and versatile, musicians in the bountiful New England post-folk scene. At home in any number of styles, her highly-visible work as a supporting musician (on fiddle, vocals, and bass) includes appearances with Band of Horses, Uncle Earl, Rose Cousins, Arc Iris (Jocie Adams), Session Americana and - as part of Pete Seeger's 90th birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden - Patterson Hood and Michael Franti.