AMERICAN IDOL Winner Laine Hardy Named Official Ambassador of Louisiana

Rising country star and ABC's American Idol winner Laine Hardy has officially been named an Ambassador of his home state of Louisiana. At a VIP Reception of legislators and other dignitaries near the state's capitol yesterday, Laine received the honor and was part of an announcement of him being featured in the latest "Louisiana Is A Trip" tourism campaign.

"I am so proud to officially represent the great state of Louisiana as an Ambassador and excited to help spread the word about all my home state has to offer as part of the 'Louisiana Is A Trip' campaign," says Laine.

"It was great to have Laine perform for us last night as we honored him and welcomed him as a true, official Louisiana Ambassador to show the world that 'Louisiana is a Trip.' It was a special moment to be able to recognize this up and coming star as he gets set to head back out on tour, representing and promoting our state, our culture, and our way of life that will truly Feed Your Soul," says Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser.

Laine is back out on the road this spring and summer. Check https://www.lainehardymusic.com/tour for the latest on the tour. Catch Laine in Lake Charles, LA next month as he hits the water and the stage, for Hook & Barrel's Salty Catch Trout Shoutout, benefitting disaster relief in Louisiana. Tickets and information for the June 5 event may be found at https://hookandbarrel.com/TICKETS/.

A native of Livingston, Louisiana (pop. 2,000) Laine Hardy was six when he picked up his first guitar and later joined his brother playing in local clubs and bars for upwards of six hours a night, inspired by artists ranging from Luke Combs and Elvis Presley to Mark Broussard. After winning American Idol in 2019, Laine focused on songwriting and touring, headlining shows in Denver, Indianapolis, Sacramento, Minneapolis, Lexington and more. Laine's 2020 "Ground I Grew Up On" virtual tour, made over 15 online stops to date, with views at 2 Million and counting, with plans to continue into 2021.

While Louisiana is home, Nashville is where he is destined to be. There he met producer Michael Knox (Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett) and the pair went to work in the studio. 2020 new music releases included his single "Tiny Town" (Michael Tyler), and tracks "Ground I Grew Up On" (Brandon Kinney, Josh Thompson, Brett Beavers) and "Let There Be Country" (Jason Afable, Steve Moakler, Tim Nichols) on Buena Vista Records / Industrial Media's 19 Recordings, earning Laine a Taste of Country RISER designation. The new songs tell the stories of Laine's childhood on the bayou where on an average day you'll find him fishing, riding his four-wheeler, spending time with his family, dogs, and feasting on jambalaya or his grandmother's traditional Korean kimchi.

Laine released his take on the Christmas classic, "Please Come Home For Christmas" as well as brand-new track "Other LA," written by Laine with Andy Sheridan, Erik Dylan and Dan Isbell, last fall with plans for new music this year.

For more information about Laine Hardy, visit LaineHardyMusic.com and join his journey @TheLaineHardy.

Photo Credit: Robby Klein

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