Americana Music Magazine – Bluegrass, Roots, Folk, Blues, and Old-Time
Lauren Calve started singing and playing guitar when she was 15 years old. Her love and fondness of Americana grew out of family gatherings around the dinner table where they’d tell and repeat old stories while drinking scotch. “It’s because of this family tradition that I’m innately drawn to stories,” she exclaimed. “My uncle calls me the archivist of the family. I genuinely love engaging with people to learn about their own family stories. It’s with that same enthusiasm passed down to me from my family that I approach my songwriting.”
“At my core, I love learning,” she said, recalling her college days, nose buried in books; ”And I’ve always been a curious person too. I’m just drawn to stories, and it’s what I love writing about the most.”
Calve graduated from college with an art degree, but it was during a time of recession in the US and she found it was difficult to find a job. A college friend decided to teach English in South Korea and invited Lauren to join her. She jumped at the chance.
Her next adventure found her in Wyoming working on a dude ranch, and it’s there where she began to explore sharing her voice with others. Feeding her love of the West, that experience set the stage for what was ahead musically for Lauren.
The Northern Virginia native moved back to the D.C. area and began to pursue life, and her musical career. Lauren is a design patent examiner for the USPTO (Patent and Trademark Office), by day, and a singer/songwriter by night.
Her latest EP, Wildfire, finds Lauren exploring imagery and meter as she writes about complex issues that matter to her. Her authentic styling is rooted in blues and Americana, personified by innovative melodies, and arrangements. “Blues music is probably my biggest influence,” she said. ”It moves me in ways hardly anything else does. I’m drawn to and try to emulate its simplicity, searing electric guitar lines, and emotive vocal style.”
My dad always says, ‘what you see is what you get,’ My songwriting is no different.”
To find out more, visit
www.laurencalve.com