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At 3 years old, Stoney LaRue could be found belting out
“Swinging” by John Anderson on his Mr. Microphone radio. The son
of a struggling bass player and a nurse, LaRue understood the
allure of music at an early age, and recorded his first works at
age twelve. He earned accolades through school for his unmatched
vocal abilities and promising instrumental talents. Many
subscribe Stoney LaRue to the category of artists that are
simply natural born performers, just don’t try to limit him by
category.
Born in Taft,Texas, LaRue actually spent the majority of his
adolescence north of the Red River, where he was raised in
Southeastern Oklahoma . He never really pictured himself doing
anything else but making good music, so LaRue eventually made
his way to the state’s Red Dirt hotbed of Stillwater, where he
began to develop his individualized style from a widespread
range of influences.
From Willie Nelson to Ray Charles, to The Grateful Dead and Kris
Kristofferson, LaRue’s emerging style impressively blends varied
elements of country, blues, and soulful rock into cohesive,
vocal driven performances. His abilities earned the immediate
respect of then “up and coming” peers including Cody Canada,
Mike McClure, Jason Boland, and other cohorts of the
revitalizing Texas and Red Dirt circuits (now electrifying
audiences nationwide.)
In 2002, both fans and industry took good notice of LaRue after
he spearheaded The Organic Boogie Band and released ”Downtown,”
which was recorded in private sessions at Cain’s Ballroom in
Tulsa and mixed in a trailer on the side of a cliff in
Bartlesville,OK. It was just the beginning, as the debut
cemented LaRue’s following and inspired a move to New Braunfels,
Texas, where a vibrant music community and a persistent touring
schedule spawned a vast response.
Fans anxiously awaited the August 2005 release of Stoney LaRue-the
Red Dirt Album, which hit the Billboard sales charts in its
debut week. A far cry from the mixing trailer on the cliff, The
Red Dirt Album was recorded with a tight circle of players and
professionals in a studio setting. The record was a pinnacle
effort for LaRue and has inarguably established his triple
threat status as a truly gifted vocalist, player, and performer.
Armed with golden ear musicianship, an amusing wit, and
soulful magnetism, LaRue’s shows are infused with an uplifting
quality, a cathartic barroom brand of spirituality, where venues
are complimented for good bar “feng shui,” and where time and
dimension can be traversed via emotive lyrics and melodic riffs.
A charismatic performer, LaRue’s flawless vocals can draw a
crowd to a open mouth level of sonic mesmerization, and next
have them singing “Forever Young” so loudly that you can’t hear
anything else.
At 28 years old, Stoney LaRue now performs close to 300 dates a
year at top festivals and venues across the nation and even the
Caribbean, sharing bills with renowned acts like Lee Ann Womack,
Gary Allan,Dierks Bentley, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Ray Wylie
Hubbard, Radney Foster, and others. With a newly assembled band
that includes Jeremy Bryant (drums), Jesse Fritz (bass), Rodney
Pyeatt (guitar), and Steve Littleton (keys), Stoney LaRue is
poised for his upcoming addition to the famed Live at Billy
Bob’s series and even greater horizons to come.
The music is undeniably inside of Stoney LaRue, but he’s the
type of artist that doesn’t HAVE to point it out to you, his
belief in the music is strong enough that it just powers through
transparently. Stoney LaRue is not trying to be anybody but the
artist that he is, and his sincerity just seeps out, spills off
the stage, and overtakes any room. |
