Melissa Carper & Theo Lawrence

Celebrated for her profoundly observational lyrics, her “homespun sensibility,” and a voice that curls like a croon from a gramophone, Melissa Carper plays old school country music that resonates across time and place. Carper’s repertoire weaves together the threads of old-time, bluegrass, western swing, jazz, and blues that all intertwined to form American country music, back in the days before the recording industry drew artificial lines and slapped on race-based genre labels. Veteran Nashville musician Chris Scruggs highlighted Carper’s versatile traditionalism when he dubbed her “HillBillie Holiday,” declaring, “She’s as good as it gets. She has a quality that really transcends time and fashion.”

Melissa Carper’s childhood in North Platte, Nebraska, was filled with country music. She has fond memories of lying on the living room carpet with her head under the family stereo console, listening to her parents’ beloved Hank Williams and Loretta Lynn albums. From an early age, the Carper siblings sang gospel music together at churches and retirement homes, and when the kids were old enough for instruments, their mother organized them into a country band. Having taken up upright bass in 4th grade, 12-year-old Melissa naturally became the electric bassist. A childhood playing country music until midnight on the circuit of Nebraska’s rural Elks, Eagles, and American Legion halls may have been out of the ordinary, but she reflects that “my parents were dreamers and they believed in all of us and our musical abilities.” Her high school band director, himself a bassist, was another mentor, and with his encouragement, she attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln on a classical music scholarship.

Paris-born and Texas-based, Theo Lawrence channels the spirit of each of his homes with timeless style and soul. While growing up in France, Lawrence fell in love with the songs of classic American artists like Charlie Rich, Burt Bacharach, Carole King, Dan Penn, and Lee Hazlewood. The unique blend of these rich influences – and his upbringing an ocean away – results in a truly singular sound, reverberating with “a sincerity you rarely hear today,” as it’s been described by Western AF. The result is a world where French Riviera flourish meets the American motor lodge pool.

An effortless combination of Brill Building craftsmanship, Yé-yé spirit and classic soul, Lawrence writes songs about love in all its forms: found, lost, and lingering. “I have a hard time being satisfied by any one style,” he says. “I wanted to reflect everything I listen to,” citing additional inspiration from Bert Berns’ Bang Records, The Drifters’ “Under The Boardwalk” and Peggy Lee’s groundbreaking Latin ala Lee!

Beginning his career with a pair of like-minded collaborators – Thibault Ripault, Bastien Cabezon, Olivier Viscat and Julien Bouyssou – Lawrence found early success releasing albums from Bordeaux, France, but felt a growing pull towards the land of Doug Sahm, Ray Price, Jim Reeves and Willie Nelson. “We could play one show a month in France,” recalls Lawrence. “In America, we could play every day.” Settling in Austin – and embracing that original mission statement – Lawrence has quickly become one of the most compelling new voices in American roots music, sharing stages across the country with artists including Alison Krauss & Union Station.

On a recent trip to Chicago to record with Alex Hall at Reliable Recorders (JD McPherson, Nick Lowe), Lawrence approached the sessions with a focus on feel and fluidity over chasing perfection or polish. “There were zero rehearsals with the band,” he remembers. “They didn’t hear any of the songs. I wanted a sound that wasn’t too squashed or corrected. I don’t remember having to over-explain anything. I’d just play the chords, and it was understood.”

That philosophy is a credit to Lawrence as both bandleader and songwriter, and to the musicians surrounding him: Ripault on guitar, Hall on drums, bassist Billy Horton (Charley Crockett, Nick Waterhouse, Jimmie Vaughan) and Joe Roddy of Austin’s psych-Saharan-cumbia trio The Point on piano. Reliable Recorders’ collection of vintage instruments also shaped the arrangements. “We were using the instruments laying around, and we didn’t get lost in 50 different guitars,” Lawrence says. “We used the vibraphone a bunch, piano, organ – just chasing the right tone.”

Whether wrapped in lush strings and horns, driven by a sun-soaked groove, or stripped back to its emotional core, Lawrence’s songs create a world of intimate moments that feel utterly vibrant and fully alive. His music carries the romance of old Hollywood, the warmth of soul and country, and the elegance of classic pop, where the passing of time is something to savor.