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Buzzed about Big Loud newcomer and Holler favorite, Lauren Watkins, hosted the first of her three Nashville residency shows on Oct. 17.
Taking over Nashville's Springwater Supper Club & Lounge – the oldest continuously open and operational bar in middle Tennessee – it almost felt like a bar specifically made to host a Lauren Watkins show.
As you listen through the neotraditional Nashville native's music, it's almost as if you're being transported to a smokey dive bar of years gone by, decked out with the sticky tabletops, cold cans of PBR at the ready and decades of cigarette smoke permanently caked into the walls.
That's exactly the experience that Springwater provides.
Fittingly named The Heartbreak Supper Club, Watkins used the first night of her three-show residency to test out some of her new music expected on Nov. 17 with the release of Introducing: The Heartbreak.
Opening with 'Fine Country Line', which has become her staple show opener throughout 2023 and is included on the forthcoming EP, Watkins also showcased a few other songs that we can expect in the coming month.
Among them were the already beloved 'Stuck In My Ways'; 'Cowboys on Music Row,' which earned a surprise appearance from Ashley Monroe; and the gut wrenchingly somber 'The Table'. The latter is set to be released this Friday (Oct. 20).
Along the way, the blossoming entertainer paid homage to some of her favorite artists and peers, too, offering up covers of Sheryl Crow's 'Soak Up the Sun', Miranda Lambert's 'White Liar' and labelmate Morgan Wallen's 'You Proof'.
Throughout the first residency show, Watkins also provided the crowd with a handful of her already released favorites, including the dramatic 'Dark Places', drinking pick-me-up 'Grain of Salt', swaying 'Shirley Temple and the all-too-relatable 'Sleeping In My Makeup'.
Already cementing herself among the strongest up-and-comers in the format, Watkins continues to prove her growing star power.
While it should be a surprise that an artist still so early in her career has already landed some iteration of a residency, Watkins has spent 2023 making her bones and showing that she's got what it takes.
The Heartbreak Supper Club will continue on Oct. 31 and Nov. 14 at Nashville's Springwater Supper Club & Lounge.
Beyond that, her full Introducing: The Heartbreak will be out on Nov. 17 with a pair of new songs coming every two weeks.
For more on Lauren Watkins, see below:
