Music at Marrowbone Books: Elizabeth Laprelle

Elizabeth Laprelle’s first singing partner was, she says, her mother Sandy Newlin.

In this month’s Music at Marrowbone Books, Laprelle talks to Martin Cook about ballads and banjos, combining storytelling with music, and the influence of her hometown barber.

“I’m a collector, not a composer,” she says, finding pleasure in songs that may not be new, but are new to her. Some are from the US’s southern music traditions, others from northern. Listen to the breadth of a collector’s repertoire, and you can see their personality, she says.

This episode also includes snippets from Laprelle’s recent performance with Newlin at Marrowbone Books in the Coombe – with the songs they have collected.