Lauren Ruth Ward

• From: Baltimore, MD
• Related Artists: Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, Jenny Lewis

After parting ways with her previous record label, Los Angeles based singer/songwriter Lauren Ruth Ward is back in action with brilliant new music and headlining west coast tour dates. Contractually, Ward was not allowed to advertise any performances in Los Angeles for most of last year. Always the rebel, she worked around it by not announcing her name on the bill--appearing with an acoustic guitar ahead of a Slugs residency date and at a community-driven event at Stories bookstore, to name a few. Her perseverance is admirable, even if it did exacerbate a node on her vocal cords during the summer. Now, back in full health, Ward announced that she has separated from her label, and that there are many surprises in store for fans, free from contractual obligation.

Ward's fantastic debut album, Well, Hell (LP 2018) received countless positive reviews from critics and her devoted fans were absolutely blown away by her emotive songwriting. In late 2018, she also released Happy Birthday Jim, a special collection of The Doors covers as a tribute to the influential band. Nowadays, Ward is busy in the studio working on new music that she plans to release throughout 2019.