Lainey Wright

A comment echoed time and again by those who have known singer/songwriter Lainey Wright all of her life–and by those who have only just met her. Her name is, interestingly enough, the very adjective that describes her best. In that name there is something real. Something honest. Lainey is just Lainey. And it seems she has something to say. “I can’t get her songs out of my head,” said Paul Colman, (The Paul Colman Trio, The Newsboys) who is producing Lainey’s debut project. “If they were about nothing, I’d be furious. But seeing as these catchy tunes are loaded with poetry and spiritual yearning, they’re like prayers”. Growing up in a small Texas town, Lainey remembers falling to sleep most nights to the sounds of her brothers’ guitars down the hall. She was very young when she began to get in on the action, and soon she began writing music. By age 16, with the help of her brothers, she’d produced a full-length CD of original songs at a small studio near her home. Then, she made a decision that was completely unprecedented in her little town. She gave up sports for music. She hit the road most every weekend sharing her music in coffee houses, churches and at community events. And people listened. It was on this road that she met San Antonio promoter/manager Greg Carnes. Some may call the meeting chance, but Lainey prefers to think of it as ordained. It was at this point that life as Lainey knew it began to change, not slowly, but by leaps and bounds. “Greg took me on and put me to work. My task was to write 20 new songs that we could take to a producer so we could get to work on a new album,” said Lainey. “I think maybe he was testing my work ethic!” At the time, Lainey was in her first year at The University of Texas at Austin. But work, she did. By March of 2010 she and her songs were in Paul Colman’s studio in Franklin, Tennessee. Originally the plan was to record an EP. However, after listening to the songs, Paul was convinced there were enough solid tunes to record a full-length CD. That is when the work began in earnest, with Lainey commuting between Austin and Franklin for co-writing, production and recording sessions. It would seem that Paul has pulled out all the stops for this project, bringing in some of the most talented names to put their mark on the record. Among them Steve Mason and Dan Haseltine of Jars of Clay. The result is a record that is refreshingly unique,earthy and organic.