Lauren Anderson

Lauren Anderson is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Chicago, Illinois. While often cited as a blues artist, Anderson's work draws from multiple genres, including soul, rock, country, and Americana. Her albums have charted on the Billboard Blues Albums chart, and she has received multiple Josie Music Awards, including Best Jazz/Blues Vocalist of the Year in 2025. In 2025, she competed on Season 28 of NBC's The Voice as a member of Snoop Dogg's team.

Early life and education Born in Chicago, Anderson grew up in nearby Oak Park, Illinois, in a musical and artistic household. Her father is an architect and her mother is an interior designer. Her two younger brothers, Mark and Erik, are both musicians who studied music in college. She began classical piano lessons at age eight and sang in multiple school and community choirs. She graduated from Oak Park and River Forest High School in 2003.

Career

Anderson formed a band in 2014 and released her debut EP, Do & Hope — named after her mother's family motto — later that year. Her first full-length album, Truly Me, followed in 2015, and she was named Female Vocalist of the Year by the Midwest Music Awards that same year. In 2017, she relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue music full-time, where she established a monthly residency at the Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar. Her EP release The Game subsequently spent five consecutive weeks in the top 50 of the Billboard Blues Albums chart.

Anderson's second full-length album, Love on the Rocks, was released on August 6, 2021, and debuted at number 14 on the Billboard Blues Albums chart, number 4 on the Roots Music Report, and number 21 on the NACC Blues Chart. The album was produced by the Lauren Anderson Band with engineering by Taylor Lonardo, and featured guest guitarist Mike Zito. Session musicians Jon and Liz Estes contributed saxophone and flute. Her work has received coverage in publications including Glide Magazine, Goldmine, Blues Magazine, and Making A Scene.

In 2023, Anderson established a home studio in Nashville where she hosts songwriting sessions and runs a program inviting visitors to write and record original songs. She also conducts songwriting sessions with veterans via Zoom. In 2024, she recorded the collaborative single "Ain't No Cure Like the Blues" with Justine Blazer at the historic Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama. Seven years later, in 2025, she successfully auditioned for Season 28. In the Battle Rounds, Anderson was paired against Makenzie Phipps, and the duo performed Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats." Snoop Dogg selected Anderson as the winner.

In February 2026, Anderson released the collaborative single "3rd Degree" with fellow blues artist Kara Frazier.

Discography Studio albums Title Year Artist Label Producer Do & Hope (EP) 2014 Lauren Anderson Independent Lauren Anderson Truly Me 2015 Lauren Anderson Independent Lauren Anderson The Game (EP) 2018 Lauren Anderson Independent Lauren Anderson Won't Stay Down (EP) 2019 Lauren Anderson Independent Taylor Kropp Love on the Rocks 2021 Lauren Anderson CPI/Independent Lauren Anderson Band; engineered by Taylor Lonardo Burn It All Down 2022 Lauren Anderson Independent Lauren Anderson Band & Taylor Lonardo

Singles Title Year Artist Notes "What Good Is a Bad Boy?" 2016 Lauren Anderson Produced by Sean Michel Kelly (Sixpence None the Richer); recorded at Ocean Way Nashville "Box Wine Blues" 2016 Lauren Anderson Produced by Sean Michel Kelly; recorded at Ocean Way Nashville "Mr. Christmas" 2018 Lauren Anderson Produced by Taylor Kropp "Creep" 2019 Lauren Anderson Cover of "Creep" by Radiohead; recorded at Taylor Lonardo's studio in Nashville "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" 2020 Lauren Anderson Cover of "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" by Whitney Houston; recorded at Taylor Lonardo's studio in Nashville "Back to Chicago" (feat. Mike Zito) 2021 Lauren Anderson From Love on the Rocks "Zombie Blues" (feat. Albert Castiglia) 2022 Lauren Anderson From Burn It All Down "Bad New Ways" 2023 Lauren Anderson Self-produced "Love Again" 2023 Lauren Anderson Self-produced; recorded with Blue House Band; 2024 Josie Music Award winner "Go Find Less" (feat. Kathryn Rose Wood) 2024 Lauren Anderson Produced by Zakk Garner "Ain't No Cure Like the Blues" 2024 Lauren Anderson / Justine Blazer Produced by Lauren Anderson & Justine Blazer; recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio "Boom, Boom, Boom" 2024 Lauren Anderson Produced by Evan Coffman at Demolition Music "Seasons Change" 2025 Lauren Anderson / Tracee Perrin Produced by Lauren Anderson & Tracee Perrin; recorded with Blue House Band "'Neath the Mistletoe" 2025 Lauren Anderson Produced by Zakk Garner "3rd Degree" 2026 Lauren Anderson / Kara Frazier Produced by Zakk Garner "Got It All" 2026 Lauren Anderson Produced by Zakk Garner

Charts The Game Top Blues Albums: Top 50 (5 consecutive weeks, 2018) Love on the Rocks Top Blues Albums at No. 14 (2021) Roots Music Report at No. 4 (2021) NACC Blues Chart at No. 21 (2021) Burn It All Down Top Blues Albums at No. 12 (2022)

Awards Josie Music Awards

Other awards