Laura Smith is battling cancer, and friends are raising money to help her
Friends and fans of Laura Smith have raised more than 13,000 in less than a week to help the Nova Scotia-based singer-songwriter battle cancer.
Laura announced through her record label, Borealis Records, this past week that she is facing the disease and was cancelling her forthcoming dates in order to undergo treatment. Friends immediately set up a GoFundMe page to help raise the money Laura stood to lose from the cancelled shows – and within days, they had eclipsed their initial goal of $10,000. They are continuing to fund raise on the site noting that Laura can use as much support as possible as she battles her illness.
Laura, who is keeping the details of her diagnosis private, has already lived through considerable hardship during her career. She didn’t record or tour for 16 years after a series of injuries left her with chronic pain, which in turn led to an opioid dependence and methadone treatment.
She made a triumphant return in 2013 with Everything is Moving only to now find herself facing another setback.
Laura has moved many people with her music, most notably, through her sophomore album B’tween the Earth and My Soul, which spawned the popular single on adult contemporary radio “Shade of Your Love” and a stirring and highly original adaptation of the standard “My Bonny.” She is possessed of a beautifully rich singing voice that seems to come from deep within her core communicating tremendous emotion and nuance.
We here at Roots Music Canada are saddened to hear that Laura is facing cancer, but we’re buoyed to see the support she is receiving from her friends and fans in the roots music community.
If you’d like to help her out, please visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-laura-smith.
