![\"Multi-genre](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Cred-DamianBorja.jpg\")
The self-proclaimed \u201ccompartmentalist\u201d moved from Baltimore, Maryland to Southern California three years ago. Currently, Ward is based in Los Angeles, working in the music scene for about a year and a half.<\/p>\n
Ward will stop by Uptown to perform at Observatory North Park with Americana artist Shakey Graves on Sunday, June 24. Her debut performance at the iconic venue isn\u2019t her first visit to Uptown music scene.<\/p>\n
Her previous local concerts include two shows at Soda Bar \u2014 with Yip Yops and Somme on May 29; and Nicole Atkins in December 2017 \u2014 as well as at Casbah with Vista Kicks and Veronica Bianqui last September.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m liking these 300 capacity venues \u2013\u00a0they\u2019re kind of divey,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s very bar centric \u2014 and then like, \u2018Oh, and it\u2019s a venue?\u2019 I like it, it gives me kind of like a Baltimore feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though Ward loves the \u201cdivey\u201d feel of Uptown\u2019s bar\/venue scene, she is thrilled to step on a bigger stage at the 1,000-person capacity Observatory North Park. She admitted that she \u201cdid her homework\u201d on the restored 1939 theater before the show and follows the venue on Instagram.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Observatory] is super beautiful, and I love going to new places,\u201d she said. \u201cTo open up for Shakey Graves \u2014 sold out, massive venue. We\u2019re feeling very, very fortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to her tour \u2014 promoting her new album \u201cWell, Hell,\u201d released last September \u2014 Ward also made an appearance at LA Pride Festival on June 9. Ward said the experience was \u201cabsolutely life-changing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ward left her hometown on the East Coast, where she had a successful cosmetology business and male partner. However, she decided to pursue her love of music, landing her to the drastically different climate of Southern California.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could have very easily have gotten married to a man and had a kid,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m definitely pro-love, but my heart is queer. Coming out here and people just being a bit more easy and more free with people\u2019s connection with love and other people \u2014 that was incredible and eye-opening.\u201d<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/laurenruthwardmusic\/videos\/1276941212438786\/<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cCalifornia\u2019s very, very progressive,\u201d she continued. \u201cIt\u2019s super smart with the way that I think everyone should be looking at how we are allowed to love \u2014 there should be no limitations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite connecting with more \u201clike-minded people,\u201d she admits adapting to the West Coast standard is an ongoing journey.<\/p>\n
\u201cL.A. has taught me to unlearn certain thought patterns and behaviors,\u201d she said. \u201cI thought I was \u2018pro-humanity\u2019 [\u2026] realistically, you\u2019re a product of your raising \u2014 yeah, that\u2019s a fact. But that\u2019s not a crutch though. You need to unlearn what is clearly a wrong way of thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
This love and acceptance bleeds into her relationships with band members. She plays with her friends, but the nature of the music scene \u2014 \u201ceveryone\u2019s in three different bands,\u201d she laughed \u2014 means her amoeba group has shifted throughout the years. Yet she is understanding of everyone\u2019s journey as they come and go into her life and music.<\/p>\n