Nikki Lane Carves Her Own Path Through the Country (Created April 17, 2013)

From high school dropout to 'High Class Hillbilly,' Nikki Lane is just beginning to make her mark on the world of country music. A singer, songwriter and self-taught musician, Lane has traveled the United States in search of different scenery and inspiration for the career that is just starting to flourish.

You can almost pigeon-hole Lane's career as a one-line "Stop us if you've heard this all before." Girl grows up in a small down in the South, escapes all the trappings of a supposedly destined way of life (four-year degree, marriage, house, white picket fence and a few kids) and flees the scene with all her material possessions stuffed into a trailer. But most aspiring songwriters – or at least country songwriters – would've headed straight to Nashville. Not Nikki Lane. She instead pointed due west, settled in Los Angeles and was signed to the indie label IAMSOUND Records.

One EP ("Gone, Gone, Gone") and a full-length album ("Walk of Shame") later, it's easy to understand where Lane gets her inspiration. From heartache-fueled ballads to that country-staple song about a one-night stand, you can stack her music alongside the likes of Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton, and that's just the way Lane likes it. She uses her life's stories to give her songs a beginning middle and end, and looks to iconic artists like Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard to build her confidence as her career moves forward.

When she's not performing and recording, Lane now lives in Nashville where she owns and operates a vintage boutique called High Class Hillbilly. With her last album released in September 2011, it shouldn't be long before Nikki Lane is back to making new music to carry on her country sound.