Lauren Stovall was born to a band of barbershop style singers in the piney woods of Central Mississippi. At seven years old she made her solo musical debut at the Mississippi State Fair, performing a soulful rendition of “Boil ‘Em Cabbage Down.” There were many in attendance and many cried.  Still many more smiled.  And for this she was awarded a bright blue winner’s ribbon.  A few years later, she traded in her fiddle for to teach herself guitar.  

This was the beginning of a life lived in the company of many other performers, barkers, and howlers.  She spent her formative years singing in choirs and accompanying numerous bands as a multi-instrumentalist, sharpening her already considerable vocal talents.  She soon learned that her real joy was to be found in performing music for an audience.  She once poured herself out so much through song that her voice quit.  The doctors said that if she ever wanted to sing again she’d need to give it a rest.  And so she did, for a few weeks.  

After high school, she decided to continue following her love by studying music in a school of fancy book learning.  After a few beneficial years of study, she left school and Mississippi behind for a life of music.  She packed her car and headed west where she found Skippy, a Jack Russel, her ever faithful companion.  She ran out of gas in Aspen, Colorado and immediately began playing with bands and solo musicians alike, anywhere there was a crowd.  Always the eager one to learn more about her craft, she picked up the banjo as well, taking a few lessons here and there.  She worked odd jobs for a while so to save money for her first Martin guitar, which she bought from the famed Great Divide Music Store.  

In 2008, Lauren took a brief hiatus from music to return to school in Mississippi.  A year later she found herself a newly licensed beauty operator and once again unable to resist the allure of a life in music.  So she returned to Colorado, this time to Boulder where she met her great friend KC Groves of Uncle Earl.  Lauren and KC began performing under the moniker The Jaspers later that year with the help of Enion Pelta-Tiller of Taarka fame.  The Jaspers are currently based out of Lyons, Colorado.  

With the help of friends Eric Thorin (bass) and Andy Thorn (banjo), Lauren recently completed work on a three-song demo of all-original material, a project made possible by Mr. Jake Sproul of Rose Hill Drive.  She is thrilled to make these songs available to the world and eager to hear from her fans and fellow musicians.  You can contact her here or check out her tour dates to see when she’ll be bringing her traveling show to your provinces.  



-Gary Sheppard


Gary Sheppard is a writer based in Oxford, Mississippi.  His fiction has appeared in The Chiron Review and New York Tyrant.  He is the former editor of the music & culture webzine Fig & Mint.  He has also written about music and literature in Delusions of Adequacy and Jackson Free Press as well as other publications.