Laura Bates & Brandon Foote

About Me

Laura Bates and Brandon Foote's sound is timeless, rootsy and lush, with soaring harmonies, piano, mandolin and guitars harkening back to the olden days with new vision. Bates and Foote look and sound like they just stepped off the stage of the Grand Ole Opry, or perhaps even further back, to the dance halls of the civil war era - always digging deeper and moving forward.
With their unique blend of old-time, folk, bluegrass and country, Laura Bates and Brandon Foote have graced coffee shops, bookstores, pubs, and festivals with tradition favorites and original songs. Booking their act as "Guitar, Mandolin, and Two Voices", their sound is refreshingly simple and strives for authenticity, with nods to the Carter Family, the Monroe Brothers, and Tim and Mollie O'Brien.
Their debut album, Jubilee was released in April 2007 on Earthwork Music showcasing a handful of fine microphones and a cast of talented friends. With reflective and poignant songwriting, Jubilee presents gospel tinged Michigan roots at its best.
"In this day of overproduced, synthetic music, it is albums like Jubilee that refresh and fill our plates with the honest simplicity of a Sunday morning."
--Progressive Torch and Twang WDBM E. Lansing

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 9/3/2006
Band Website: batesandfoote.com
Band Members: Laura Bates (guitar, piano, vocals) & Brandon Foote (mandolin, guitar, vocals)... with/ The Bumpus Hounds: Kelly Pond (fiddle, vocals), Joe Bakaitis (string bass) & Captain Midnite (pedal steel, dobro, telecaster).
Influences: The Carter Family, Elderly Instruments, Brian Roman, Keith Billik, Joe Bakaitis, John Paul Schultz, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Luke Winslow-King, Daniel Sutton, Drew Howard, Tim O'brien, Dan Price, Josh Davis, Dominic Suchyta, Jonathon Price, Daisy May, Susan Fawcett, Andy Wilson, Joe Wilson, Bruce Ling, Stephen Foster, Jen Sygit, Steppin' In It, Ian Gorman, Bill Monroe, Andrea Moreno-Beals, Mike Kemnitzer, Micah Middaugh, Bob Bernard, Karrie Potter, Pooh Stevenson, Rachel Davis, Dan Kahn, Nic Gareiss, Seth Bernard, Jamie Krapohl....
Sounds Like: Guitar, Mandolin, Piano and Voices.....
Record Label: Earthwork Music
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Torch & Twang Top 45

Jubilee charted in the Top 45 Albums of the Year on WDBM's 88.9FM Progressive Torch & Twang program!
Posted by Laura Bates & Brandon Foote on Wed, 16 Jan 2008 07:39:00 PST

Jubilee Review in Sing Out!

Sing Out! Autumn 2007 Vol.51 3 LAURA BATES and BRANDON FOOTE, Jubilee, (Earthwork 0028). Newcomers Bates and Foote, who hail from Michigan, accompany themselves on piano, guitars, and mandolin, as ...
Posted by Laura Bates & Brandon Foote on Thu, 06 Sep 2007 08:26:00 PST

Jubilee French Review!

http://www.mille-feuille.fr/Modules/Chroniques/Fiche/?c_id=1 054
Posted by Laura Bates & Brandon Foote on Thu, 30 Aug 2007 09:31:00 PST

Jubilee Review @ Michigan Folk Live

Laura Bates and Brandon Foote - Jubilee From the minute Laura Bates' beautiful soprano voice follows the opening cords of the first song of this recently released CD, my senses were serv...
Posted by Laura Bates & Brandon Foote on Thu, 30 Aug 2007 09:27:00 PST

Jubilee now available...

Jubilee now available at www.earthworkmusic.com and www.elderly.com ...
Posted by Laura Bates & Brandon Foote on Wed, 04 Apr 2007 08:32:00 PST

Contact: [email protected]

Contact: [email protected]
Posted by Laura Bates & Brandon Foote on Thu, 08 Mar 2007 08:52:00 PST

Album Update...

With a handful of fine microphones and a cast of talented friends we were able to track 15 tunes in hope of releasing a full-length album this spring. Many thanks to Ian Gor...
Posted by Laura Bates & Brandon Foote on Sun, 14 Jan 2007 02:14:00 PST