Laura was born and raised in Hawaii, surrounded by the music of the islands, her Dad's piano and tenor banjo playing, and the rich harmonies of the church choir. She moved to the "mainland" and started playing old time banjo when she was 25 years old. She's been playing and singing ever since, concentrating her repertoire on folk, traditional old time singing, and banjo tunes. She taught in the public schools for 23 years.