I am proud to say that I have known The Whiskey Gentry’s lead singer, Lauren Staley (Morrow!) since we were just wee babes obsessed with England. After over more than a decade I have watched as this songbird played her first mini-gig to a bunch of drunken Germans, then drunken English, and now of course drunken Americans. From the first moment Lauren kicked her leg out on stage with Marvelous 3 at Music Midtown in front of over 40,000 folks, I knew this girl was destined for stardom. Now after all these years, Lauren finds herself in a band that shows just as much talent as she does, and they are taking over the rowdy Americana bluegrass rock scene one fan at a time. Lauren joined us for our 5GB series before their 3-day stint at Smith’s Olde Bar for “Twang-On 2.”
What’s the first gig you ever attended?
My mom took me to see K.D. Lang at Chastain when I was about 10. I can’t remember much from the show, but I do remember asking her why the two ladies in front of us were kissing each other so much.
What is the best gig that you ever played/performed?
Honestly, last year’s Twang-On at Smith’s is pretty hard to beat. We form these shows around bands that we like and want to have around us, so not only to we have a great time playing, we have a great time being fans as well.
What is the best gig you have ever seen?
This is always so hard to answer, but I saw U2 on their POPMart Tour in 1997 at the Dome at the height of my obsession with them, so that always feels like a special night for me. We had amazing, close-up seats, and I was only in 7th grade and had never seen a production so massive before. I just stood and stared in awe the whole time.
What is the gig you would most like to play?
Probably either Cochella or Bonnaroo or the Reading/Leeds Festival or the Glastonbury Festival in the UK — mainly because I’ve always wanted to attend those festivals but I’m too much of a baby to stay out in the elements and the crowds. If we were performing, at least we’d have backstage access.
What would be the lineup for your dream gig?
Someone asked us this question a few weeks ago and it was seriously the hardest thing to narrow down. We come from so many different musical backgrounds and we love all types. It was completely ridiculous. Anyone from Garth Brooks to Madonna to OutKast. I think we even put Weird Al Yankovic in the lineup for good measure.
Catch Three Nights of The Whiskey Gentry at Twang On 2 @ Smith’s Olde Bar, July 12-14th
