Rising country music star looks forward to returning to her local roots this week

Those attending the first Thursdays on Main event of the summer season this week will have the opportunity to hear a rising star in the world of country music.

Elizabeth Lyons will be the featured performer from 7-9 p.m. at the corner of Main Avenue and 4th Street.  The Nashville, Tenn. artist is anxious to return to Clear Lake-- a place where she made many happy 

memories as a young child.  She recalls spending many days at the lake, enjoying the music of her great-grandfather, Alfred Larson.  Elizabeth’s mother’s family lived in Mason City and today her grandmother, Beverly Larson Elder, is a Clear Lake resident.  

The small town venue is something that Elizabeth says she enjoys, although her music career is taking her to much larger stages in the coming months.  She will open for country music singer and writer Phil Vassar at Summerfest June 28 in downtown Milwaukee, Wis.  Summerfest is the largest musical festival in the world and this year includes a long list of country superstars such as Luke Bryan and Jason Aldeen.

Elizabeth was born and raised in a North Shore suburb of Chicago, where she was exposed to the world of fine arts, but most specifically loved music in all capacities at a young age. She began performing at the early age of five in a number of musical theatre productions.  She went on to perform at the Grammy award winning New Trier High School in four musical productions. She has played piano for more than a dozen years and has studied ballet, pointe, tap, jazz and lyric dance. 

After attending  the UCLA performing arts camp in Los Angeles, Calif.,  she  studied music composition at Columbia College in Chicago and at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.  When it became apparent that she should pursue a career in music, she relocated to Nashville and last month graduated from Vanderbilt University.  

She worked for Roots Three Music in Nashville as an intern while recording and  performing and that experience has opened doors, she said.

“I represent myself-- I’m my own book- Read More Via e-Edition