Lara Ruggles

Lara Ruggles grew up listening to Patsy Cline, Emmylou Harris, Cat Stevens, Joan Baez, and the Judds. She sang her first concert in three-part harmony and won her first poetry slam. Her unique blend of avant-pop and soul-folk is passionate and powerful, even when sung from whimsical points of view such as the perspective of a purse. With the attention to lyricism of Conor Oberst, the intensity of Florence and the Machine and the ear for infectious melodies of Ingrid Michaelson, Lara's piano and guitar-driven melodies invite the listener on a journey through soaring hooks, battle scenes and postcards written from well-loved and desolate desert landscapes. Lara's music is unafraid to acknowledge the dark places within the range of the human emotional experience. She engages with her audiences in an unabashedly genuine way, telling raw stories and allowing her own vulnerability to be a point of connection and empowerment. Lara is a two-time finalist in the Tucson Folk Festival Songwriting Contest. She has shared the stage with prepared guitar pioneer Janet Feder, Steven Vidaic of Citizen Cope, and Nina Storey and been honored as a finalist in the renowned Eddie's Attic open mic competition. Lara will release her debut full-length album, Cynics and Saints, on Immersive Records in 2014.