(photo by Le Feng) The sounds of Luray’s first album, The Wilder, are both ethereal and earthly, the sound of the sun reflecting on grass, and the breeze caressing wildflowers. Named after the town in Virginia, Shannon Carey (Luray’s songwriter and delicate evocative voice) translates her experiences in Virginia and DC perfectly to record. “It’s tall grass, wildflowers, rolling green hills, endless fields and cows grazing in the valley hit me at the time when I discovered these songs were within me, and I was coaxing them into form. The lush life in the Shenandoah Valley in early spring helped convince me that the songs were worth writing.”
A transplant from California, Shannon comes from a musical family. “I always played music. My family does music. My parents are both musicians and my brother plays drums for Bon Iver.” But after going to college for social work, she stopped playing music, until a fateful night. “I had a dream about playing the banjo. I was living in California. I had a dream that I got a guitar, but I was wishing that it was a banjo, and I had never really thought about that before. And when I woke up I thought ‘I want a banjo.’” Click here for the rest of the interview. -Natan
You can catch Luray live on Aug 24th at Sixth and I Historic Synagogue. We’ve teamed up the venue to get one lucky Deli reader two spots on the guestlist! All you have to do is email us by 3 PM on Aug 12 and let us know your favorite Luray song. Please include your first and last name for guest list requirements. The winner will be emailed back.