Rising Stars: Meet Laura Miller

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Miller.

Hi Laura, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I first remember learning how to sing when my mom would tuck me into bed as a little girl. Every night we would sing a song. This is where I first learned how to match pitch, harmonize, and blend with another person.

Since then, I’ve just always just done music. Through elementary, middle-school and high-school, I was always in church choir, school choir, and regional and national honor choirs.

Eventually, I studied Vocal Music Education in college with an emphasis in vocal jazz. I grew not only in the technical side of singing, but also in my capacity to have an emotional connection to a song and really find a way to identify with it. At the same time, especially when I started teaching, engaging with music was always my job. In college, it was my job to learn. Post-grad, it was my job to teach. It felt like a technical skill I had acquired but I never necessarily qualified myself as a creative person. It was through teaching music, I began to realize I missed the personal aspect to it. I missed engaging with it on my own.

And so I began songwriting.

Over the past four years, I’ve taught myself how to play guitar, attended songwriting workshops, and really worked on my own craft. I began to realize not only was engaging in creativity meaningful for my own life, but it felt like I had something to offer to others. Most recently, I just released my first EP, Clearing this past summer of 2021. I’ve also released two music videos. But most importantly, I’m continuing to feed my own Spirit through creative writing and songwriting.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’m originally from Midwest City, Oklahoma and have since relocated to Colorado. Moving to Colorado, has been one of the biggest gifts to my life because it’s where I learned how to get out of my own way. As I began pursuing a creative life, I realized the loudest voice telling me I couldn’t do something was my own.

Colorado’s outdoors has taught me how to struggle well and push past my own discomfort and fear through through skiing, touring, hiking, and backpacking. I don’t think any aspect of life exists in isolation. The same lessons I’ve learned and confidence I’ve gained in Colorado’s outdoors, has helped me believe in myself musically as well. I’ve learned how to show up authentically, push past my own fear and discomfort, and hopefully make something really great.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a singer-songwriter that has dabbled in just about everything. I specialized in Vocal Jazz in college, sang in a mountain folk band outside of Vail, and now play for myself as a singer-songwriter in Denver. Musically, I would say I’m most known for my lyrics and authenticity. I really try to write what’s been true for me. Personally, I think my spunk and goofiness definitely make me memorable. haha! I love laughing and think humor is so essential not only to creativity but to life.

Creatively, I’m most proud of my first EP, Clearing. I just released Clearing this past summer, July 2021. I made Clearing during the quarantine of 2020 with a good friend from college. I was teaching elementary music and when in-person learning was suspended, I moved home for a couple months to lay down the tracks. It was an incredibly rewarding and growing process.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
My biggest goal in sharing my music, and I would just say in my life, is to really be transparent with my process of being human. I think so often, I wish someone could have extended me grace to be imperfect and be human. So I guess, I want to extend the offering I wish I had heard. Whether it’s on social media, how I present myself to others, in my songs, or personal interactions, I hope people feel a deep commonality in our shared humanity. No one’s got it figured out. But the journey of being human is probably a lot less lonely if we let each other know we’re in it together.

Contact Info:

• Email: hello@lauramillercreative.com
• Website: lauramillercreative.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauramillercreative/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lauramillercreative/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3hDplMo-RA

Image Credits
Photos by Madi Rae, Gloria Kim, and Crystal Shaw Thomas