Miss Lori Dawn

Lori’s sophisticated and passionate approach to songwriting will capture your heart and imagination. Her unique voice emanates such emotion that even the birds will stop singing to listen.

As a child, the angels sang Miss Lori to sleep. She has spent her life trying to reproduce the harmonies of this heavenly choir. A true diamond, she has managed to turn her life experiences and deep thoughts into works of wonder and beauty.

Combined with a powerful, crying voice, both joy and sorrow are reflected in Lori’s songs and they truly touch the soul of her audience.

Lori was born in Orem, Utah with a gift that was first discovered when she was only four years old. Her family was on their way to the airport one Sunday afternoon and Susan Raye’s song, LA International Airport came on the radio. From the back seat, Lori belted out the entire song, word-for-word, in a way that would have put poor Ms. Raye to shame. Her family was shocked and amazed at her perfect pitch, memorization abilities and lack of fear.

A singer and guitarist herself, Lori’s mother began encouraging her and teaching her songs to perform for local rest homes and other local events. At only four years of age, Lori was singing, dancing and entertaining audiences all across Utah Valley with her mother as her accompanist.

All through her school-age years, Lori was involved in choir, musical theatre and drama. She was often chosen for solo parts and landed lead roles in several musicals, including Oklahoma, My Fair Lady and Huckleberry Finn. She won Best Supporting Actress of the year for her role as Ado Annie in Oklahoma during high school.

When she turned twelve, Lori’s mother gave her a ukulele and a songbook. She taught herself how to play and quickly became bored, so she began playing her mother’s steel guitar. At the age of 15 her mother gave her a guitar for Christmas and Lori mastered flat pick rhythm guitar playing. That’s when she wrote her first song as a gift to her mother. She presented it on Mother’s Day and melted her mom’s heart. This song is featured on her current CD.

Since that time, Lori has written hundreds of songs and has been entertaining audiences both in band settings and as a solo performer. She released her first CD in November 2003 and is currently making preparations for another project.

Bands and groups she was a part of in Utah included Sister Harmony (a duo act with her sister, featuring original music), Intermountain Acoustic Music Association (Utah-based Bluegrass Group) and other classic rock and bluegrass bands. Lori became a legend at Defa’s Dude Ranch, a popular getaway tucked high in the Uinta Mountains of Utah, where she performed on the trail rides, playing guitar and singing while riding a horse. She did this for almost seven years.

After moving to California’s Central Valley in 1998, Lori became a worship leader and soloist for her church, a role she enjoyed for six years. She joined the CCSA (Central California Songwriters Association) in 2003 and is often heard playing at their local events in the Fresno and Clovis areas.

She has opened for David Gans, Luther Wright and the Wrongs and Acoustic Highway, and she has put on two stunning performances for the Rogue Festival in Fresno in 2004 and 2005. In 2004, Lori’s song, I Like Having You Around, took first place in a songwriting contest hosted by the CCSA. Lori’s strongest influences include Nanci Griffith, Iris Dement, Loretta Lynn and Alison Krauss.

In the midst of performing and holding down a full-time job, Lori has managed to raise three talented children who also have a gift for singing, guitar playing and songwriting. Although they have been singing together for years in campfire, car and living room settings, they have recently begun to collaborate and they’re working on a family show that will debut in 2006. It’s sure to knock your socks off, so stay tuned for more on the Miss Lori Story.