Lauren Ruth Ward

Lauren Ruth Ward stands out as a fearless, gravel-toned vocalist and tunesmith whose style echoes the raw intensity of Janis Joplin and Courtney Barnett. Determined to live honestly, she upended her entire existence. Raised in Baltimore, she absorbed the sounds of Fleetwood Mac and Led Zeppelin alongside Michelle Branch, Nelly Furtado, Mirah, and Elliott Smith, first taking the stage at age 13 simply for enjoyment. Once she finished high school, she trained as a hairstylist and quickly assembled a loyal roster numbering in the hundreds. Over time she recognized the necessity of centering music while openly embracing her queerness. In 2015 she left her salon career behind, ended her engagement, and relocated to Los Angeles. There she met guitarist Eduardo Rivera, whose guidance sharpened her songcraft and infused it with added rock bite. She completed the lineup by bringing in bassist and vocalist Livia Slingerland together with drummer India Pascucci, issuing the Lauren Ruth Ward EP in January 2016. That same year she contributed guest vocals to Polarcode’s “I Crave You” and Ellogram’s “Come Home.” For her first full-length record she enlisted producer and engineer Grey Goon; the resulting album Well, Hell surfaced in February 2018.