I'm from Maryville Tennessee, a beautiful little city nestled in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. I started singing in church when I was just 3 years old. At age 10, the loss of my great papaw inspired me to pick up my first guitar, and with mom's help, I wrote my first song. During my sophomore year of high school, I got really serious about my music. It quickly became apparent to me that I would need to devote hours per day to practice and writing. I wanted to focus more on my music, which led me to quit the high school basketball team and become homeschooled. At age 16, I was the youngest winner (a record that stands to this day) of the Texaco Country Showdown. That specific year, about 50,000 people nationwide entered the competition. Out of those 50,000, the top five would perform their original music on the Ryman Auditorium Stage. LeAnn Rimes hosted the event and I won the grand prize of $100,000.
The day after I turned 19, I moved to Nashville. I worked as a restaurant hostess while pursuing my goal of earning a full-time music career. In less than a year, I was able to accomplish just that alongside guitarist Wesley Lunsford. I've been a semi finalist on American Idol Season 13 and 14 and in the final Season 15 I made it into the top 48. Wes and I have opened for some amazing artists: Sara Evans, Randy Houser, Scotty McCreery, The Band Perry, Joe Nichols, and more.
Meeting Wes was a serious game-changer for me and my music career. When my former lead guitarist backed out of a gig at the last minute, my drummer said he knew "a guy named Wes". From the first moment I heard Wes play, I've never wanted another guitarist. He's not only one of the most talented people I've ever met, but also one of the most hardworking people I've ever worked with. Wes was my lead guitar player for about a year and a half before I moved to Nashville. Just before I moved, Wes told me he wanted to be a part of anything and everything in which I was involved. We haven't played a show without each other in over a year, we write all of our songs together and he brings something completely unique to everything I do.
After a few years grinding away in Nashville TN, I was playing at a local bar called “The Row” and Patryk Larney from Hope Tree Entertainment approached me. He was interested in helping Wes and I with our careers. Before long we were rebranded “THE YOUNG FABLES” and were underway releasing our first album “TWO”. We filmed music videos and released content and got honest with who we were and the things we loved.
In 2017 we landed a meeting with Mitch Dane, a Grammy award winning producer, and set out to make our sophomore album “OLD SONGS”. Wes and I opened our souls and included many songs about our families including a song entitled ‘Daddy’s Girl’.
Two months before the release of “OLD SONGS”, in January of 2018, my little sister and best friend Lindy Wright died in a car accident. She was 19 years old. It broke me in two. I had trouble picking up the pieces. I turned to friends, family and a growing social media community to catch me and carry me through the harder times. I was recovering.
A few months later Wes and I would receive an invitation from Shania Twain to appear on her television showcase on the USA NETWORK called “REAL COUNTRY”. We gained national exposure and THE YOUNG FABLES began playing all over the country. ROLLING STONE weighed in on one of our singles and things seemed to be moving in the right direction.
I received another devastating phone call. My father had suffered a fatal heart attack. I couldn’t believe it. Between the holiday season of 2017 and Christmas 2018 my family had been chopped in half.
Today, I am navigating through the hardships of losing my loved ones while balancing the growth of The Young Fables. Wes and I are telling our story all over the nation on THE SCREENPLAY TOUR 2021 and connecting with a community that has truly been my saving grace. We are preparing for the release of a feature documentary The Fable of a Song™ that chronicles all the craziness that has gone on behind the scenes of The Young Fables.
Wes and I hope to meet as many people as we can and to connect with individuals who are dealing with similar struggles while continuing to write and play music and deliver our unique form of Modern traditional Country to the world.
Laurel Wright is endorsed by SHURE microphones and performs with a KSM9.
