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Lori McKenna
McKenna in 2006
Background information
Birth name	Lorraine Giroux
Born	(1968-12-22)December 22, 1968 (age 56)[1] Stoughton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Genres	Country folk Americana
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Warner Bros. Signature Sounds Universal Creative Nation
Website	lorimckenna.com

Lorraine McKenna (néeGiroux;^[2] born December 22, 1968) is an Americanfolk,Americana, andcountry music singer-songwriter. In2016, she was nominated for theGrammy Award for Song of the Year and wonBest Country Song for co-writing the hit single "Girl Crush" performed byLittle Big Town.^[3] In 2017, she again wonBest Country Song at the59th Annual Grammy Awards for writing "Humble and Kind" performed byTim McGraw.^[4] McKenna along withLady Gaga,Natalie Hemby andHillary Lindsey wrote the second single off the soundtrack to the 2018 filmA Star Is Born called "Always Remember Us This Way.” McKenna performed backing vocals along with Lindsey and Hemby, and the song received a nomination forSong of the Year at the62nd Annual Grammy Awards.

McKenna was born and raised inStoughton, Massachusetts, where she still lives today.^[5] Her mother died when she was seven years old, a theme often touched on in her music. She met her husband, Gene McKenna, in third grade^[2] and married him at age 19. She has five children and has been married for more than 30 years.^[5]

McKenna first started writing lullabies to her children. Her brother, who first introduced her to the guitar, encouraged her to attend an open-mic night at the Old Vienna Kaffeehause inWestborough, Massachusetts in 1996.^[2] The organizer heard her play and encouraged her to come back, becoming her informal manager and booking shows for her around Boston.^[2]

McKenna was managed by Gabriel Unger from 2000 to 2004. During this time, she released her first four albums underSignature Sounds and developed a folk music fan base in the Northeast.^[6] She won awards at theBoston Music Awards,^[7] and performed at theSundance Film Festival.^[8]

In 2004, singer-songwriterMary Gauthier introduced McKenna's albumBittertown to her Nashville friends. Upon hearing it,Faith Hill stalled her completed 2005 recordFireflies to replace tracks with covers of McKenna's songs.^[1][2] Hill and husbandTim McGraw became McKenna's champions and asked her to tour with them in 2006.^[9] Hill took McKenna to perform with her on theOprah Winfrey Show.^[10] McGraw helped bring McKenna toWarner Bros. Nashville in 2007 and produced her albumUnglamorous.^[9] Following the lackluster sales, she parted ways with Warner Bros. She then signed withUniversal Music Group Publishing in 2009 and independently released her next albumLorraine in 2011.^[9]

Since then, McKenna has become "one of the industry’s most in-demand songwriters."^[11] She has written songs for artists includingSara Evans,Reba McEntire,Tim McGraw,Carrie Underwood, andKeith Urban.^[10] She wrote 10 songs that made it to the Billboard Hot Country list, includingHunter Hayes' "I Want Crazy", Faith Hill's "Stealing Kisses", Tim McGraw's "Humble and Kind"; andLittle Big Town's "Your Side of the Bed", "Sober", and "Girl Crush."^[12]

McKenna writes solo and co-writes with songwritersHillary Lindsay andLiz Rose. The group wrote the song "Girl Crush", and it became a hit for the bandLittle Big Town.^[9] The song received Grammy nominations for bothSong of the Year andBest Country Song, winning the latter in 2016.^[3] The song was nominated for Song of the Year Song at theAcademy of Country Music Awards,^[13] and won Song of the Year at theCountry Music Association Awards.^[14]

McKenna won another Grammy the next year for Best Country Song for "Humble and Kind" by Tim McGraw.^[15] McKenna wrote the song as "lullaby, guidebook, and tribute" to her five children.^[9] The song was named Song of the Year at the 2016CMA Awards^[9] and won favorite country song at theAmerican Music Awards the same year.^[4] In 2017, "Humble and Kind" was nominated for Song of the Year and Single Record of the Year at theACM Awards. McKenna was named Songwriter of the Year at the ACM's that same year.^[16]

McKenna has received critical acclaim for her albumThe Bird and the Rifle. The album was produced byDave Cobb and nominated forBest Americana Album at the59th annual Grammy Awards, and the single "Wreck You" was nominated forBest American Roots Song andBest American Roots Performance.^[17] McKenna was nominated for the 2017Americana Music Awards Artist of the Year.^[18] Her 10th studio album,The Tree, was produced byDave Cobb and released in summer 2018 through Thirty Tiger Records.^[19]

In 2015, McKenna was signed to a management and publishing deal with Creative Nation, a Nashville-based company owned and operated by songwriter Luke Laird and his wife Beth.^[9] On September 25, 2018, McKenna signed a publishing deal with Creative Nation for a three-year deal.

In 2020, McKenna released her eleventh album,The Balladeer, through CN Records andThirty Tigers. Music criticRobert Christgau hailed it as "the most consistently top-notch album of her late-blooming career".^[20]

In 2020, McKenna co-wrote "A Beautiful Noise" with 7 other female writers -Alicia Keys,Brandi Carlile,Brandy Clark,Hillary Lindsey,Ruby Amanfu,Hailey Whitters andLinda Perry - and the song was performed byAlicia Keys andBrandi Carlile with the purpose of inspiring American voters to vote in the2020 Presidential Election.^[21]

In 2021, singer-songwriterTaylor Swift released her second re-recorded albumRed (Taylor's Version), including a song called "I Bet You Think About Me" featuringChris Stapleton. The song was written by Swift and McKenna in 2011.

• Official website
• Lori McKenna discography atDiscogs
• Lori McKenna: An 'Unglamorous' Star Is Born : NPR Music
• Lori McKenna Live in Studio from WGBH Radio Boston

• 1968 births
• Living people
• American women country singers
• Singer-songwriters from Massachusetts
• American folk guitarists
• American folk singers
• American country singer-songwriters
• Grammy Award winners
• Warner Records artists
• People from Stoughton, Massachusetts
• Guitarists from Massachusetts
• 20th-century American guitarists
• 21st-century American women singers
• 20th-century American women singers
• Signature Sounds artists
• 20th-century American singer-songwriters
• 21st-century American singer-songwriters
• 20th-century American women guitarists
• Thirty Tigers artists

• CS1 Dutch-language sources (nl)
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• BLP articles lacking sources from October 2023
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