Lauren Shera (born c. 1988) is an American folk musician and guitarist. Shera spent her early life in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, surrounded by a wide range of musicians. When she was 13, her family relocated to northern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

; around this time, she picked up the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

. In 2008, she studied at the

Old Town School of Folk Music The Old Town School of Folk Music is a Chicago teaching and performing institution that launched the careers of many notable folk music artists. Founded by Folk musicians Frank Hamilton and Win Stracke, and Dawn Greening, the School opened in th ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where she honed her skills as a singer and a musician while learning

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

and clawhammer banjo. In 2014, she released the single "Hell's Bells" through record label DigSin.

Studio work

Lauren self-released her first album, "In My Bones", on November 30, 2006, at age 18. Along with its release she began to tour nationally and expand her audience from the Northern California

coffee house A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non- ...

base that she had developed. Shera’s most recent project, "Once I Was A Bird," produced by Andy Zenczak at Gadgetbox Studios in Santa Cruz, was released on June 7, 2011. The album received critical acclaim from outlets such as My Old Kentucky Blog, who called Shera "A major talent lying in wait." Magnet Magazine said "You might not know Shera now, but trust us, that is about to change” and

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

called her a "rising indie-folk star."

Performance history

Shera has shared the stage with artists such as

Ray LaMontagne Raymond Charles Jack LaMontagne (; born June 18, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. LaMontagne has released eight studio albums: ''Trouble'', ''Till the Sun Turns Black'', '' Gossip in the Grain'', '' God Willin' & the Creek Don ...

Jason Mraz Jason Thomas Mraz (; born June 23, 1977) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, ''Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' (2002), which spawned the single " The Remedy (I Won't ...

, Phil Lesh,

Shawn Colvin Shawn Colvin (born Shawna Lee Colvin, January 10, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. While Colvin has been a solo recording artist for decades, she is best known for her 1998 Grammy Award-winning song " Sunny Came Home". Early ...

, Billy Bragg,

Nanci Griffith Nanci Caroline Griffith (July 6, 1953 – August 13, 2021) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She appeared many times on the PBS music program ''Austin City Limits'' starting in 1985 (season 10). In 1994 she won a Grammy Award f ...

, Kristin Hersh,

Joan Osborne Joan Elizabeth Osborne (born July 8, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and interpreter of music, having recorded and performed in various popular American musical genres including rock, pop, soul, R&B, blues, and country. She is best kn ...

, Jackie Greene, and Abigail Washburn. She has performed at festivals such as

Bonnaroo The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in M ...

, the High Sierra Music Festival, Sausalito Music and Arts Festival, Monterey Music Summit and South by Southwest. When she was 18, she was also invited to perform at the

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Tribute Concert at New York City’s

Avery Fisher Hall David Geffen Hall is a concert hall in New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic. The facility, desi ...

. Lauren was hand-picked by

Ben Lovett Ben Lovett (born May 3, 1978) is an American singer, film composer, songwriter and producer. Lovett is the founder of record label, Lovers Label. His non-film compositions are released under the names Lovett and Lovers & Friends. Previous wor ...

Mumford and Sons Mumford may refer to: *Amazing Mumford, a Muppet character on ''Sesame Street'' * ''Mumford'' (film), a 1999 American comedy-drama film * Mumford procedure, also called distal clavicle excision or distal clavicle resection, an orthopedic surgical pr ...

to play on the first United States tour of Communion, which Lovett operates. Lauren will play beside Matthew and the Atlas and David Mayfield on over 21 dates nationally.

Honeymoon

Shera also performed in the band Honeymoon along with Sara Bollwinkel and Christina Bailey. The group, which was based in Santa Cruz, performed a blend of indie-folk, traditional roots and pop. Currently on hiatus due to bi-coastal bandmates, honeymoon plans to continue writing and performing together when schedules and geography permit it.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shera, Lauren 1980s births Living people American folk musicians