Who Is Lanie Gardner? The Story Behind Her Journey to Country Music 2024

Every once in a while, a special artist emerges on the country music scene. Lanie Gardner is one of those artists. Despite focusing on music for what seems like forever, it is only in the last year or so that fans have and the industry have finally really taken notice. We chatted with Gardner about her music, her newly released debut album, and her journey to get to where she is now.

“I’m from a little mountain town in the middle of nowhere, so there was a lot of bluegrass and country elements up there. I also had top forty radio. […] I think probably all the things combined probably influenced my music today,” began the North Carolina native. “The generational aspects of the Appalachian Mountains influenced me a lot, even today.” Gardner also credits artists like Chris Brown and Rihanna for her love of more dance-vibe music, as well as, country artists like Miranda Lambert, Dierks Bentley, and Eric Church for their songwriting.

Gardner recalls always being mesmerized by music. She credits her grandfather and his musical talent and dream for encouraging her own. “To make a career out of it, my grandpa used to play and sing, and he was a beekeeper as well. […] He’s a big part of why I do what I do today. He said if he had enough money to make it out of that little mountain town, he believes he would have made it. I kind of carried his dream over and just picked it up with mine,” she shared.

The Turning Point:

Upon graduating high school, Gardner immediately moved out to Murfreesboro, Tennessee. “I went to college at MTSU, and that’s how I got into an R&B phase and got to experience that, while also still writing in the country elements of music.” While attending school, Gardner continued to hone her talents as a multi-dimensional musician.

During the pandemic, Gardner’s cover of the Fleetwood Mac song, “Dreams” went viral. “That’s what started my whole career and kind of launched me into the industry,” shared the singer. “During that time, labels were kind of snagging up artists off of TikTok. The issue was the label that I was with originally didn’t quite know what to do with me, so I kind of disappeared for about two years after being shelved.”

Now, Gardner is signed to a record label that she feels fully believes in her. “Things now are starting to roll again, now that I’ve cleaned house and have a new record deal and have a new team that really believes in my vision and what I’m doing.”

Today:

Flash forward to today, Gardner just released her debut project, A Songwriter’s Diary. “I never really got to introduce myself during that time. I was kind of stuck in between what other people wanted me to be and what I wanted to be and never had that opportunity. This first album talks about where I’m from, who I am, how I think, how I speak, all of those things encompassed in this first project. I believe it will probably be a rock for the rest of my career in the future, just something to remind me of why I started this whole thing in the first place.”

The record features ten songs that the singer-songwriter has written over her lifetime. “The album as a whole, to be honest, it was a project that kind of came together without me even realizing it was coming together. I had started an Instagram series called ‘A Songwriter’s Diary.’ […] In the series, I would take the book that I had when I was in high school, one that I would write my songs down in, and I would take it and sing a song from it. Whatever page I turned to, and just sing that song. We kind of married that into my first project. This project is an accumulation of my own thoughts and words and experiences to tell the story from the very beginning. I hope I can take everybody back home with me and give them a visual.”

While many of the songs are standouts, Gardner’s song, “Somewhere, Nowhere in Carolina” is one of the best. “”Somewhere, Nowhere in Carolina” was a song written in those two years of just losing my way. Wanting to be somewhere in Carolina and nowhere in my career, was kind of my standpoint during that time because I just lost the meaning of music and the meaning of storytelling, because I wasn’t able to or allowed to do it,” shared the singer, reflecting on her journey.

Fans can expect more music coming from Gardner, as she is already writing new music and working on her next project. Additionally, a song is going to radio sooner rather than later. Gardner promises more fun stuff and more good vibes coming soon!

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