Artist Feature
by Garland Harwood

Land of Leland – “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming”

Land of Leland (a.k.a. Justin Keller) - Photo by Natty Green
Land of Leland (a.k.a. Justin Keller) – Photo by Natty Green

Brooklyn-based gentle folker Land of Leland (a.k.a. Justin Keller) has been building a Christmas EP for the last few years, releasing one fine new track each year. Tonight he releases his rendition of “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” – the 16th century German carol (originally “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen”) converted to English in the late 1800s.

The collection, Christmas Time (Bandcamp), now consists of five songs including my favorite: “The Friendly Beasts.” Most of the songs feature Keller on banjo and all of them carry the same signature LoL (no pun) gentle Bon Iver-esque vocal style.

Stream it here.