Laren Rapp & Co.

Laren Rapp is a solo acoustic folk performer and singer-songwriter local to Southern Indiana, who’s known for his strong vocals, wailing harmonica, fancy percussive footwork, and old-timey song catalog.

It was on an early sunny Saturday morning, in the Spring of 2021, Laren was performing a 3-hour solo acoustic set at the Jeffersonville Farmer’s Market, hosted at the Big Four Station Park in Jeffersonville, IN. The crowd was moseying from booth to booth, gendering at the hand-crafted trinkets, fresh farm foods, and home-waxed candles, while a particularly rich choice of old-time songs danced throughout the park from underneath the large metallic outside Pavilion. People above on the walking bridge to vendors in the surrounding tents stopped to watch as Laren performed songs by the likes of John Prine, The Band, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and yes, BEATLES!

After finishing his set and packing up his gear, Laren was approached by the fine curators of AROTR and invited on the spot to perform at AROTR that year! With only 10 days to prepare, Laren was determined to make the most of the opportunity.  Accompanied by his cousin and longtime AROTR vet, Anna Blanton on fiddle, the two performed last minute as a duo with the best-case goal in mind of being invited back.

And the rest is history! Now, with 4 consecutive years of AROTR experience under his belt, Laren will be returning to the festival with 4 performances total scattered throughout the weekend.  On Saturday afternoon, May 25th, friends and fans alike can catch Laren’s rendition of Bob Dylan’s album, Times They Are A-Changin'.  Then, on Sunday evening, May 26th, Laren will be performing a duo set with good friend and multi-instrumentalist, Jacob Head, who will be adding vocals, fiddle, mandolin, and probably at least 3 other string instruments to the mix.