Any country singer who starts her record off with the ol’ cowboy yell of “yippee-ki-yay” is making it clear from the start that she isn’t a city gal. Nikki Lane does more than stay true to her country roots: she celebrates the dusty highways and days gone by with her own vintage style and songs that sound right at home on the jukebox.
Lane will perform as part of the Winter Underground Sound Series at the Vilar Performing Arts Center on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $38 and are available now by calling 970-845-8497 or visiting http://www.vilarpac.org.
Rolling Stone says: “Nikki Lane has made a name for herself with her no-bs brand of outlaw country music, but the artist and songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee, wants you to know she has a softer side, too.” Emerging as one of country and rock’s most gifted songwriters — this young Nashville singer blends potent lyrics, unbridled blues guitar and vintage ’60s country-pop swagger.
Taking the reins
Born and raised in South Carolina, Lane broke onto the alt-country music scene in 2011 with the release of her single “Walk of Shame,” an ode to a regrettable night with a forgettable stranger. Her first full-length album of the same name debuted that same year. Her 2014 follow-up record, “All Or Nothin’,” was produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, who once described Lane’s songs as “old and new at the same time” in an interview with Rolling Stone.
Lane’s third record, the aptly-titled “Highway Queen,” was released in 2017. The new album finds that outlaw country sweet spot by blending Lane’s Southern twang with rockabilly and blues. On this latest record — which includes the rockin’ tune “700,000 Rednecks,” an homage to her hometown, along with “Forever Lasts Forever,” a cheeky song about divorce — Lane is ready to take the reins of her career.
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“I was always a smart girl, always had to yell to be heard,” Lane said in a press release. “But this was the first time in my career where I decided how things were going to go; I was willing to take the heat.”
Lane’s new music resonates as easily with Lana Del Rey and Jenny Lewis fans as those of Neil Young and Tom Petty.
Over the past few years, she’s partnered with seemingly everyone in the music scene from Chris Stapleton, Band of Horses, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson all the way to Loretta Lynn.
If you go …
What: Nikki Lane.
When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek.
Cost: $38.
More information: 970-845-8497, http://www.vilarpac.org.