songwriter
Singer/songwriter Laurelyn Dossett lives and writes in the piedmont of North Carolina, and her songs tend to reflect the stories of the region, both traditional and contemporary. One of the most sought-after voices in creative collaborations, she co-founded Polecat Creek with singing partner Kari Sickenberger in 1997. Laurelyn is a frequent performer at regional music festivals such as Merlefest and has been a guest on the radio show Prairie Home Companion. She has toured with folk legend Alice Gerrard and songwriter Diana Jones, and premiered composer Kenneth Frazelle’s song cycle, “Songs in the Rear View Mirror,” in 2010, and has toured with the North Carolina Symphony in 2009 and 2011.
In recent years Laurelyn has partnered with Triad Stage’s Preston Lane on four plays featuring regional folklore and original music: “Brother Wolf” (2006), “Beautiful Star: An Appalachian Nativity” (2006), “Bloody Blackbeard” (2008), and “Providence Gap” (2010). An adaptation of “Bloody Blackbeard” toured NC schools in 2009, and both “Brother Wolf” and “Beautiful Star” are published by Playscripts and have gone on to have professional productions in cities across the U.S.
A song from Brother Wolf, “Anna Lee,” was featured on Levon Helm’s Grammy-winning record, “Dirt Farmer,” is included in the documentary film about Helm’s life “Ain’t in it for my Health,” and is featured on the 2011 cd and dvd release of Levon Helm’s “Ramble at the Ryman.”
Commissioned by the North Carolina Symphony, Dossett and the symphony will premiere her new song cycle, “The Gathering,” November 2011. She will perform with singer and fiddler Rhiannon Giddens of the Grammy-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, legendary Nashville mandolinist Mike Compton, and North Carolina’s own banjo virtuoso, Joe Newberry.
Laurelyn has taught songwriting and singing at the Augusta Heritage Center, as well as at many universities, workshops and festivals. She was the 2010 recipient of the North Carolina Arts Council Fellowship for songwriting, 2004 winner of the Chris Austin songwriting contest at Merlefest, and a 2010 fellow at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. She lives with her family in Greensboro, NC.
Awards and accolades
2011 “Anna Lee” on Levon Helm’s “Ramble at the Ryman” cd and dvd
2010 Panelist at Americana Music Association Conference
2010 Artist in residence at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts
2009-10 recipient of the NC Arts Council Fellowship for Songwriting
2008 “Anna Lee,” was picked up by Levon Helm and recorded on “Dirt Farmer,” which won a Grammy Winner for Best Traditional Album
2004 winner of Merlefest’s Chris Austin Songwriting Contest for her gospel song, “Come by Here”
“Leaving Eden,” her song about the lost of textile jobs in North Carolina has been featured in the “Atlanta Journal-Constitution” and on the BBC
Discography
“Salt Sea Bound,” “Leaving Eden,” and “Ordinary Seasons” with Polecat Creek
“Brother Wolf,” “Beautiful Star,” “Bloody Blackbeard,” “Providence Gap” with Triad Stage
Songwriter credits
“Anna Lee,” Levon Helm, “Dirt Farmer” 2008
” Midway Road” Martha Bassett 2011
“House on the Hill” Molasses Creek 2011
