Laci O’Leary
Laci O’Leary | |
|---|---|
 Laci O’Leary in 2015. | |
| Born | Laci O’Leary September 30, 2001 |
| Nationality |  Shenandoah |
| Occupation | Signer/songwriter • dancer |
| Years active | 2014 - |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Needlegrass, needle rock |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, keyboard |
| Labels | Astridian Voice (2012 - ) |
Laci O’Leary is an Shenandoahan signer/songwriter and musician from Philippi, a small town located in the sparsely populated state of Oak Hills in eastern Shenandoah. She began her professional music career at age 11, making her the youngest Shenandoahan musician to become internationally famous, and has been preforming since the age of 8. She was signed by Killann Voice, a minor record label, in 2012. She primarily preforms contemporary rural rock music, though tends to incorporate elements of traditional needlegrass music into her songs, resulting in her being attributed as one of the first needlerock musicians. She has rapidly become one of the highest earning singers in Shenandoah. She is the only needlegrass artist whose debut album was ranked on the Signboard Hot 100 charts. In addition, O'Leary was Shenandoah's best selling artist in 2017, managing to outperform albums from several pop music superstars, including Jeana Shealy and Marisa Hart.
Despite her age and cooperatively recent rise to fame, she is becoming widely regarding as an Shenandoahan sex symbol. She has stated, however, that she does not desire this label and actively tries to downplay her sexuality. In a 2015 interview with Tabellone she replied "I firmly believe in the virtues instilled in by my mother and papa, and I want to represent those virtues in my music to my fans. I can't, and won't do that by acting like, well...like a whore."
In June of 2023, O’Leary made her return to entertainment by releasing ehr newest album, Return to the Light, which reached #1 on the Luas charts in July, and charted within the Top 25 with both Impulso and Signboard, representing her first chartings with either publication.
Early life
Laci O’Leary was born to Nicole O’Leary and Tibor O’Leary of Philippi in 2001. Her father worked in the Matey Mine, while her mother was a substitute teacher for the Clearcreek County School System. Her family was considered to be below the poverty line during her childhood.
Career
O’Leary began her signing career at age 8 when she participated in the Clearcreek County Talent Show. A talent scout attending the show contacted her parents after the show and offered Noemi a chance to preform in a variety of commercials. She continued to preform in talent shows, as well as participating in her high school choir. At age 10, she began preforming with several school friends, playing a variety of charity events, weddings and other venues.
Killann Voice contacted O’Leary in 2014 expressing an interest in signing her for a record and tour deal. The spokesmen for the label told her that, as a company, they were highly interested in promoting awareness for Killann issues and couture, and that Laci was the "embodiment of Killann ideals, virtue and culture." Her contract took effect in 2012 and runs for four years.
O’Leary was invited to preform at the 2015 Signboard Summer Festival located at the Wyse Arena outside Whitefield. She is the first needlegrass/needle rock artist to attend.
In 2019, Idir invited O’Leary to attending a studio recording session with them. Though O’Leary had announced a temporary retirement from her musical career to finish her degree, she agreed to sit in with the band while the recording of Whispers. She was invited to tour with the band on its 2020 Whispers tour but declined, citing a desire to remain in school. Her parts will be preformed by Noreen Raíña
Personal life
In addition to her musical career, Laci is pursing higher education at Blue Ridge State University, one of the most well-known schools in the Shenandoahan Commonwealth. In a 2015 interview with Luas she stated "I grew up poor, all my friends grew up poor, I want to make sure no one has to grow up poor in Oak Hills again." According to her agent, O’Leary donates over three-fourths of her musical earnings to charities. Following the release of Another Stormy Night in 2017, she announced she would not be touring in 2018 before taking some time off to focus on her schooling. She hopes to have completed her degree in social services by 2022. She stated definitively that she is not done making music, but that she wants to ensure she has a future.
O’Leary graduated from Blue Ridge State University in August of 2022 with a Bachelors of Science in Social Services.
Discography
| Year | Album | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certification | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luas | Luas Hot 100 |
Le Pouls Musique Folklorique |
Tabellone | Impulso | Signboard | |||||||||||
| 2011 | Honest Hearts are Hard to Mend |
|
6 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| 2012 | Let the Players Play' |
|
12 | 9 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| 2014 | Still Like the Wind |
|
1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| 2015 | A Peace of my Heart |
|
1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| 2016 | Gentle Waters |
|
2 | 21 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| 2017 | Another Stormy Night |
|
1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| 2023 | Return to the Light |
|
1 | 1 | - | 17 | 24 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||||||||||||
Awards and nominations
| Year | Awards | Category | Work | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Luas | Act of the Year Award | A Peace of my Heart | Won |