Laura Cortese & The Dance Cards

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We’ve heard the dance-fiddle-and-song triple threat of Boston’s Laura Cortese at The Ark before, but each time she brings something new. Laura Cortese (who now lives in Belgium) and the Dance Cards have a vision for their band’s sound: bold and elegant, schooled in the lyrical rituals of folk music and backed by grooves that alternately inspire Cajun two-stepping and rock-n-roll hip swagger. Their new music has a wide emotional and sonic scope. The four voices are just as much instruments as they are providers for lyric and harmony. At times it’s rowdy, delicate, or cinematic. The result is a sound that can start as a string band, and morph into a string quartet, female a cappella group, or indie band; all while staying honest and true to their identity as folk instrumentalists. Watching Laura Cortese & The Dance Cards on the main stage at a summer folk festival, or tearing it up late night at a club, you get the sense that they might snap some fiddle strings or punch a hole in the bass drum. They come to Michigan with a new album, “Bitter Better.”