Melissa Carper and Theo Lawrence Join Forces for New Single
Listen to the "Thank You, But No Thank You" now.
Austin-based artists Melissa Carper and Theo Lawrence have joined forces for a new single out now via Tomika Records, and distributed by Free Dirt Service Co. in the US, and Modulor in the EU. There are a few things singers don’t want to do without; Carper and Lawrence list a few of them in sweet harmony on this old-time, fiddle tune-inspired country song.
Dubbed “Hillbillie Holiday” by friend and collaborator Chris Scruggs, upright bassist/singer-songwriter Carper has charmed audiences across the globe for years with her unique vocal stylings and clever lyrics. She has recently released a string of critically acclaimed solo albums; Daddy’s Country Gold (2021), Ramblin’ Soul (2022), and her latest, 2024’s Borned In Ya. Also in 2022, Carper released an album with her Arkansas-based stomp n’ holler roots outfit, Sad Daddy; in early 2024, she teamed up with Kelly Willis and Brennan Leigh as power trio Wonder Women of Country for an EP.
For the past 10 years, Lawrence has been making a name for himself as France's favorite songbird. A truly one-of-a-kind country singer and genuine keeper of the flame, Lawrence came into his own on his Austin-made 2023 LP release, Cherie, and on his latest all-acoustic album, Pickin’ & Singin’. He pens classic love songs and delivers with a croon straight out of the Charlie Rich and Ray Price golden years. In recent years, he has played a pivotal role in reviving an interest in country music in Europe, and with his recent move to Austin, he is bringing his honed craft back to its American cradle.
Carper and Lawrence barely knew each other when they started singing songs together in the fall of 2023. Little introduction was needed to get down to business: songs needed to be written, harmonies had to be sung and an album had to be made. In the last several years Carper and Lawrence have individually earned their spots as acclaimed recording artists in the Roots Music scene, seamlessly blending old-time country, jazz, and soul on their respective records.
A country woman from Arkansas and a city man from Paris with two very different paths and voices, they were brought together by their love and devotion to traditional American music. They regularly gathered in the kitchen for long afternoon hangs in Austin, Texas, and had an album’s worth of songs right in time for Spring. They hit the road together in June 2024, putting their newly-composed classic love songs to the test, in front of attentive crowds in listening rooms throughout Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California. Riding on endless desert roads, they took time to get acquainted, humming songs to the sound of the Ford Transit radio, simply “havin’ a talk.”
These two take the art of cutting records rather seriously, so they took their business to the Athens of the South - Nashville, Tennessee. They convened at the Bomb Shelter studio, where Carper crafted her last few albums with the help of Andrija Tokic’s capable hands. A few phone calls and good taste in musicians brought several talented friends and some of the best session players to the room to form the A-team of Carper’s and Lawrence’s dreams. Chris Scruggs, brought in for rhythm guitar and steel, casually stepped up in the co-producer's-shoes, alongside Carper and Lawrence.
These two remarkable and unique voices that have bewildered many who came to hear them in all kinds of rooms for about a decade, are now heard together for the first time, blending like glass in a timeless glint of blushing shadows.
Photo credit: Aisha Golliher
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