It is a pleasure to welcome recording artist Laura Bryna as the latest guest on The Jake's Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.

Based in Nashville and Los Angeles, Laura has spent much of the past year working with A-list collaborators like producer Damon Sharpe (a Grammy Award winner known for his work with icons like Jennifer Lopez), building up a batch of songs that bring a gritty but fun-loving flavor to modern-day country music. Listing everyone from Etta James to Wynonna Judd to Joan Jett among her inspirations, Laura Bryna grew up on timeless pop songs from the 1950s and 1960s thanks to the jukebox in her family's basement in Mount Airy, Maryland.

Soon after moving to Nashville, she inked a deal with a record label, then made her debut with Trying to Be Me—an album featuring "Hometown Heroes," a straight-from-the-heart track she co-wrote in tribute to the Air National Guard which premiered on Fox's Monday Night Football. Along with opening for major artists like Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, and Luke Bryan, Bryna has since brought her soul-stirring vocals and radiant presence to a multitude of USO events, including a 2019 tour that traveled to such far-flung countries as Kuwait and Kosovo.

A passionate humanitarian, Laura is also closely involved with such causes as Homes For Our Troops (a nonprofit that provides specially adapted custom homes for injured veterans) and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. A true force of nature, she made her debut as a children's book author just a month after releasing "Jawbreaker," then delivered her Christmas single "Wishlist" to enormous fanfare (including landing on over 20,000 user playlists across Spotify and emerging as an instant holiday classic). The smash success of "Wishlist" capped off a blockbuster year that also included the release of "Body First"—a smoldering single in the vein of past hits like "Sweet Revenge," a dance-leaning 2019 track whose Dave Aude-produced remix shot to number 10 on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart. But for Laura, the most excellent satisfaction comes from interacting with her fanbase, a deeply devoted following named "The Bryniacs.

In this edition of The Jake's Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Laura Bryna spoke about the lessons she learned from opening for Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Tim McGraw, along with the story behind "Wishlist."