Sometimes you hear someone’s music and story, and you instantly know they are special. That can definitely be said about 15 year old Laine Lonero. This Ponchatoula, Louisiana singer / songwriter began singing as early as age 6. By age 9 she was singing the National Anthem for the New Orleans Zephyrs. Since then, her performance venues have continued to grow. Laine is currently working towards an EP of her own, but you can also find her song “Little Girl in Me” on the Nashville Dreamin, Country Volume 1 CD and on Spotify. Laine was also featured on four of the KidzBop CDs. Laine’s already award winning talent is catching the attention of her audiences wherever she performs. Coupled with her amazing heart and infectious personality, Laine is loved by everyone she meets.
Danielle:
At age 9 you auditioned to sing National Anthem for the New Orleans Zephyrs and were selected to perform. Since then your list of venues has continued to grow. Can you share with your fans where you have been performing and where they may be able to see you perform in the future?
Laine:
Well I still continue to sing the National Anthem at LSU and other organizations, but was lucky enough last year to get to sing at an NBA game for the New Orleans Pelicans organization. Whenever possible I am in Nashville writing and performing and love getting to do group gigs with my Nashville Dreamin family. I also perform with the band (Laine Lonero and Blue Crab Redemption). We are all 15 and 16. We perform at festivals, private parties and local venues. It’s crazy that we are so young but get to perform in 21 and over clubs.
Danielle:
You began writing at age 13 as an outlet for the experiences in your life. “Little Girl in Me” is an example of a song you wrote when you and your family were facing a difficult time. Can you share with your fans, the inspiration and story behind “Little Girl in Me”?
Laine:
Sure! This song is pretty special to me and I want to throw out a big thanks to Will Rambeaux and Sherrie Austin who worked on it with me. I am lucky enough to get to live two houses down from my Grandparents. We are very close and they are my ride pretty much everywhere since I can’t drive yet, so I see them every day. Right before Christmas in my 8th grade year we found out that my Granny had Stage 4 breast cancer and bone cancer. It was very scary but she is doing amazing on a chemo medication and I believe her spirit and attitude are what are keep her going. I wanted to capture this in her song. She says to me all the time, “It’s the best gift I ever received.” In January we got the horrible news that my Paw Paw had Pancreatic Cancer. This was all in a couple of months’ time. My Paw Paw was still dealing with my Granny’s diagnosis and now this. He immediately started treatment at MD Anderson. He is actually doing very well now after treatment and they really can’t figure out why and kinda feel like it’s a miracle. This was all so surprising because both of them were in such good health before this. This song, although originally written to my Granny is my anthem to both of them. They have been such a strong and positive influence in my life. They try to never miss a show and it took a surgery at MD Anderson for them to miss the first one.
Danielle:
The strong emotional meaning behind “The Little Girl in Me” got your song noticed when you entered it into the Nashville Dreamin contest. What happened after you won and did that experience open other doors for your singing career?
Laine:
This was a great experience and I get to perform and work with some of the nicest people. One of the many prizes for being one of the winners was to record one of your original songs for the Nashville Dreamin CD and I chose to do “Little Girl in Me.” The Nashville Dreamin team continues to perform together at different venues in Nashville and one of those performances was at The Listening Room, which was an amazing time and experience.
Danielle:
You’ve also won the Freddie G Award for Excellence in Individual Female Performance for playing Rafiki in Lion King Jr. at the Junior Theater Festival in Atlanta. How has your experience in community musical theater helped shape you as an artist?
Laine:
I absolutely love doing theater!!! I really enjoy working with a cast and the process of it all coming together. It really teaches teamwork. Whenever I can I try to do a play, but my schedule is a little crazy sometimes. Besides performing with the band and as a solo artist, I also dance competitively at Lemoine Academy of Dance, which takes a good bit of my time. I have done this since I was 6 years old. Being able to dance helps out a lot when auditioning for a role. Winning the Freddie G was one of the best experiences of my life! It was the farthest thing from my mind and a very emotional and amazing surprise that I will never forget. There is so much talent at the Junior Theater Festival from all over the world and I felt so honored to be chosen.
Danielle:
You’ve had the amazing opportunity of recording songs on four KidzBop CDs. How did that opportunity help with your fan base and recording experience?
Laine:
Working on the CD’s was a pretty amazing and actually my first recording experience. The songs are always recorded with 3 singers and you really learn a lot in the process. So thankful for the opportunity. I really think everything you do shapes you in some way and it was definitely a good start.
Danielle:
You’re currently the lead singer for a band named Laine Lonero and Blue Crab Redemption. What genre of music do you and the band typically play? Can you tell your fans a little about your band members?
Laine:
Well we really sing and perform a little bit of everything from country to rock. We try to do songs that inspire us, while also pleasing the crowd. I am very lucky to have 4 amazingly talented band members. Quentin Faulkner is the lead guitarist, Caleb Ghere is our drummer, Parke Whipple is on keyboard and last but not least is Brett Dodson on Bass. We are all 15 and 16 and we try to practice together every week which can get a little tough with school and extracurricular, but we manage it pretty well with the help of our parents.
Danielle:
What’s next for you? Is there anything you would like to share with your fans?
Laine:
Right now I am just concentrating on getting back in to the swing of things with school since I have a big load this year, but I do have a new song that I plan to release real soon that I wrote with David Spencer and Matt McVaney. It’s a little different than the work I have done in the past, but I am pretty excited about it. Another exciting thing this year was being nominated for the Josie Music Awards for “Young Female Artist of the Year,” “Young Adult Vocalist of the Year, “and “Song of the Year” for Little Girl in Me. It was really an honor to be recognized and included with all that talent. I have some other things that are in the works as well, but I can’t really talk about them yet.
Keep up with Laine Lonero
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/lainelalmusic/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/lainelalmusic
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/lainelalmusic
REVERBNATION: https://www.reverbnation.com/lainelonero