A singer-songwriter, who grew up in Keswick and Portinscale and excelled at opera as a schoolgirl, will be sharing a line-up with Madchester pioneers the Happy Mondays later this year.
Lauryn Graves, now 30, will take to the stage with her DelaGrave band mates on September 8-9 at the inaugural Borderlands Festival in atmospheric Carlisle Castle, which is hosting the first ever gig of its type there.
Now living in the city where she studied for a masters in forensic psychology, Lauryn made friends across the local music community, who became her band mates.
Lauryn told the Reminder: “I started singing as a hobby rather than a full-time job and this is a new show and a really big deal for us.
“I love the Happy Mondays and also Nightmares On Wax, who are also playing. It is such a limited line-up at the castle which feels more special and I think it’s a beautiful venue.”
Lauryn spent her early childhood in Keswick, taking inspiration from powerhouse singers like Cher and Tina Turner, before moving to Portinscale.
At Keswick School, she came under the wing of Baxter Shaw, the much-loved late music teacher, going on to represent her school and win her age-group in an opera competition, and featuring in school bands.
Lauryn started singing solo as a hobby in around 2015 by releasing tracks. One of her early singles, Clean, was featured on BBC Radio Cumbria Introducing to promote music talent in the county. It was then recommended to Radio 1 which played it, with it picked up as far away as Indonesia. It led to an appearance at Kendal Calling. Having already taken part in concerts alongside the likes of Johnny Marr, of The Smiths and The Stereophonics, DelaGrave have also played SolFest, and have a soon-to-be released EP on the way.
DelaGrave members include bassist Ben Rogerson, drummer Lee Barnham, guitarists Craig Bryson and Martin McDonald and synth player Alistair Urquhart.
The band is described as alternative indie-funk, having constantly developed their sound since linking-up and being synth-heavy.
