Columbia native Lauren Lucas talks joining Farewell Angelina

Last August, Columbia native Lauren Lucas received an offer she couldn’t refuse: becoming a member of the country powerhouse group Farewell Angelina.

Named one of Rolling Stone’s “10 New Country Artists You Need To Know” in 2016, the all-female band was looking to add a fourth member and zeroed in on Lucas as its next vocalist and guitarist.

“They handed me this amazing opportunity,” she said.

In addition to Lucas, the band is Nicole Witt, Andrea Young and Lisa Torres. Lucas will return home to South Carolina when Farewell Angelina performs at Main Street Public House on Friday, April .

The formation was “a long time coming,” Lucas said, after having worked and moved in similar country music circles with Farewell Angelina band members for years.

Her time with the band so far has been amazing, she said.

“One of the things that make the band unique is we have two fiddles and we’re a harmony band. You simply cannot make that sound as a solo artist. Some fans say we sound like the female Eagles mixed with Little Big Town – that’s the biggest compliment ever.”

Lucas grew up in West Columbia and attended Brookland-Cayce High School. She loved country music, which her grandmother would play on the radio often, but her first passion was theater. Her first stage experience was a role in Town Theatre’s production of “Showstoppers” at age 3.

“I spent most of my childhood years at Town Theatre. That was my second home,” she said.

Country music was never far away, however, and by the time Lucas was a teenager, she had formed a country band that played at local venues and festivals. An agent connected her to someone involved in Nashville’s music scene, which led to a songwriting contract with Sony ATV.

Lucas, like many South Carolina artists (Lee Brice, Haley Dreis, Patrick Davis and Trent Jeffcoat, to name a few), decided to relocate to Nashville. After studying vocal performance at Belmont University, she landed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records.

After several years recording solo albums and taking odd jobs like working at an ice cream shop and a real estate company to make ends meet between songwriting contracts, Lucas found her way to Farewell Angelina.

It was an easy transition from solo work because the band’s country sound was not too different from her own.

“You can hear threads of commonality. You definitely hear some Southern soul going on,” she said.

One thing that is different (and welcomed) is the musical collaboration. Creatively, the Farewell Angelina members work well together, Lucas said, even going as far as treating their band’s namesake like a fifth member. “We talk about Angelina as if she’s real. We want to find her voice.”

When the band performs in Columbia, it will be one of several upcoming shows in the state. Lucas said she’s excited for the homecoming, although she returns regularly to see family that still lives here.

“Well, if you ask my mom, not often enough.”

This story was originally published April 26, 2017 at 10:40 AM with the headline "Columbia native Lauren Lucas talks joining Farewell Angelina."