Lara Eidi & Anthony Fort: The Living Songbook
Award-winning singer and songwriter Lara Eidi joins pianist and fiddler Anthony Fort, along with some special guests, for an intimate journey through folk songs, jazz standards and original music.
Folk roots, jazz freedom and original songs
Returning to Toulouse Lautrec for her third appearance, award-winning singer, pianist and composer Lara Eidi presents The Living Songbook with pianist, violinist, composer and improviser Anthony Fort, Musical Director of Union Chapel Voices.
Folk and jazz share a love of melodies passed between musicians, reshaped in the moment and given new life with every performance. Lara and Anthony explore that common ground through folk songs from different traditions, jazz standards and Lara’s own compositions.
Described as “compelling in her sincerity, calmness and deft phrasing” by The House That Soul Built, Lara has performed at the Royal Albert Hall and Union Chapel, and on stages across the UK, Europe and Lebanon. Her critically acclaimed album Sun was nominated for Best Album at the Orpheus Music Awards.
Lara and Anthony’s musical partnership has developed through performing together at London’s Union Chapel, where a shared love of folk music and improvisation became a natural meeting point. Moving between voice, two pianos, guitar and fiddle, they allow songs to breathe: honouring their roots, opening into improvisation and following familiar melodies into unexpected territory.
The Living Songbook brings together two distinct, visionary artists to bring music that is inherited, written, remembered and reimagined — a living musical conversation shaped anew each time it is played.
About Lara Eidi
Lara Eidi is an award-winning singer, pianist, composer and songwriter whose music draws on folk, jazz, classical music and the traditions of the Mediterranean and Levant. Born in Athens to Lebanese-Canadian parents, she studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and has performed at venues including the Royal Albert Hall and Union Chapel. Her album Sun was nominated for Best Album at the Orpheus Music Awards, and her compositions include Maktub for the documentary It Takes a Lot of Hands to Heal Beirut.
About Anthony Fort
Anthony Fort is a pianist, violinist, composer and improviser, and Director of Church Music at Union Chapel. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music and the University of Cambridge, and holds a PhD in Music Theory from Columbia University. His playing brings a curiosity for connections between musical traditions to the duo’s performances.
Band lineup
Lara Eidi – vocals, piano, guitar
Anthony Fort – piano, fiddle
Special guests – TBA
