RUN, DON’T WALK, to pick up a copy of Laura Izibor’s Let the Truth Be Told. Trust me. This chick’s got a pair of pipes, soul and a lovely stage presence. I fell in love with her and I recommend that you take your chances.
If you don’t believe me, that’s cool, too. But go ahead and watch this video and then decide.
My arrival in NYC didn’t feel complete until I swung through SOBs on the corner of Varick and W. Houston. I could hang there every night of the week and was surprised to see how cozy it was. It was packed with Laura in the house, and had two bars and a small restaurant seating area (I can’t wait to go back for Brunch or Salsa Happy Hours), which was the primo side-stage-view seating. Introduced via the recommendation of my best friend and brother, I kept SOBs at the top of my radar, and was tortured as great act after great act stopped by on nights that I couldn’t make it.
But last Wednesday, the cards were in my favor. Way in my favor.
Laura was born in Dublin, Ireland. She swears she didn’t grow up in a musical family and didn’t get hooked on good tunes until she was a teen. On her website, she says, “My mother raised five kids on her own, so there wasn’t much time to buy records - it wasn’t that kind of home. I found myself fancying music at about 13.” Once the love for musicians like Stevie Wonder, Candi Staton, and Roberta Flack took hold, she was smitten for good. “One door opened to the next - first I discovered Marvin Gaye, and then Otis Redding, and I just fell in love with soul music.”
She’s seen success ever since and it’s easy to see why: personality, presence and pipes.
The only thing that would make you cooler, Laura Izibor, is if you had Kyla Graves open up for you. Until then, you’re pretty damn cool on your own.
