A native of Livingston, Louisiana (pop. 2,000) Laine Hardy was six when he picked up his first guitar and later joined his brother playing in local clubs and bars for upwards of six hours a night, inspired by artists ranging from Morgan Wallen to Luke Combs and Elvis Presley to Mark Broussard. After winning American Idol in 2019, Laine focused on songwriting and touring, headlining shows in Denver, Indianapolis, Sacramento, Lexington, Minneapolis and more. While Louisiana is home, Nashville is where he is destined to be. There he met producer Michael Knox (Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett, Eric Church) and the pair went to work on several new sides releasing in 2020. “Ground I Grew Up On” (Brandon Kinney, Josh Thompson, Brett Beavers) and “Let There Be Country” (Jason Afable, Steve Mokler, Tim Nichols) — releasing April 10 on Hollywood Records/Industrial Media’s 19 Recordings — tell the stories of Laine’s childhood on the bayou where on an average day you’ll find him fishing, riding his four wheeler, spending time with his family, dogs, and feasting on jambalaya or his Korean grandmother’s homemade kimchi. For more information about Laine Hardy, visit LaineHardyMusic.com and join his journey @TheLaineHardy.

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