Derry native releases debut, earns independent music award nomination

Lauren Rose Thayer can remember growing up in Derry in the 1990s and watching country music videos on CMT while most kids her age were watching cartoons on Nickelodeon.

She’s been singing since she was young, but when she first moved to Nashville, otherwise known as “Music City, U.S.A.,” it was to pursue a career in music education. As the covid pandemic began, the school where she taught eliminated her class because of budget cuts, and she began writing original music to keep herself occupied.

As of last year, that has turned into a full-time music career and Thayer not only released her debut record in June but was also nominated in two categories for a Josie Award, the country’s largest independent music awards ceremony. Thayer earned nominations for “Rising Star of the Year (Country Female)” and “Song of the Year (Country/Female/Single Songwriter)” for her song, “Hello My Name Is.” Winners are announced Oct. 27/

Thayer spoke with TribLive about the new album and her nomination. This interview has been edited for length.

Q: Nashville is known all over the world for being a town full of excellent musicians and performers – how has been it been cutting your professional teeth in “Music City, U.S.A.”?

A: It took me some trial and error but I am very lucky to be where I am right now in my line of work.

There’s a line in Sugarland’s “Baby Girl” that says: “Black top, blue sky, big town full of little white lies/Everybody’s your friend, you can never be sure/They promise fancy cars and diamond rings/All sorts of shiny things/Girl, you’ll remember what your knees are for.” I really needed to trust in God for this whole journey because without Him, I’d be way off track. With that being said, I get to make music with some of my favorite people every day on Broadway. Folks travel from everywhere just to see us, which is really cool. The fact that I get complete strangers request my original music specifically, or sing along to my words, is indescribable.

Q: What does it mean to you as a performer to be nominated for the Josie Awards?

A: It’s crazy! And an honor! When I put out my music, I never expect anything great, I just hope that the right ears hear it and they share it with a friend and so on. The fact that I’m nominated as an artist (Rising Star of the Year) and a songwriter (Song of the Year for “Hello My Name Is”) means that we’re going somewhere.

Q: You released your first album, “Going Somewhere,” in June. What’s your favorite song from the album and why?

A: Can I say all of them? Every song on the record channels a different side of my writing.

If I had to pick my all-time favorite, I think it would have to be “Hello My Name Is.” I wrote that song in my living room in Nashville on Christmas 2020. I just left Pennsylvania after I told everybody I was gonna be a singer. A lot of people had a lot of opinions about my decisions, and I decided to just channel all of that frustration into the song.

I almost wrote the whole song out of spite, but it ended up being an anthem for a lot of people who face adversity.

Q: Which were most challenging to record and why?

A: “Famous” and “The Attic.” I’m definitely not the type to “clap back” at anyone, especially on the internet. But that does not mean I won’t clap back in a song. “Famous” is not about anybody specifically but I noticed that mean girls make mean women. And it’s only a matter of time before they say something or do something that’s gonna expose their behavior.

“The Attic” is always a hard song for me to perform because it is so nostalgic. The song is a story told from three different points of view and I was trying very hard to not choke up in the recording booth. I love the direction the song took, especially in the instrumentation. I never would have put mandolin and accordion together on a song, but it turned out beautiful.

Thayer’s debut album, “Going Somewhere,” is available on major streaming services.