Laura Marling Smoked Off Stage

Posted on Apr 18th 2011 12:15PM by Tom Davenport
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Matt Crossick, Empics/PA

Laura Marling wasn't exactly over the moon when she found herself in a cloud of smoke last Saturday.

She was making her first festival appearance of the year supporting Damien Rice when a broken smoke machine swamped Laura and her band in a thick mist, forcing the musicians off their stools and across the stage.

"We've got a smoke machine fail," Laura declared while her band caught their breath. "I think we're rocking and rolling without the smoke, kill the smoke machine!"

The band got back to their stunning performance, but the technical difficulties continued when screaming feedback almost forced the singer to admit defeat. "I'm done," she told the engineers through the stage mic, stopping mid-song.

The songwriter was part of the lineup for Honeyfest, a one-off event funded by the National Lottery in conjunction with the BBC. Villagers from the rural town of Pewsey were delighted to see world-class acts in their hometown, with support from the Magic Numbers, Dry the River, and local artist Matthew Kilford.

Laura did continue her set after assurance from the stage engineers that any technical difficulties were over. She probably won't let it get to her -- after all, she recently won the NME award for Best Solo Artist, and has filled her summer schedule with a wealth of festival dates, including a slot on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival.

Watch the Video for Laura Marling's 'New Romantic'