T Bone Burnett is the award-winning overseer of the morose and murky soundtrack of HBO’s True Detective, and for season two he brought on Lera Lynn, a relative unknown who plays the weary singer-guitarist serenading Colin Farrell’s hard-drinking Ray Velcoro from the stage of a dive bar. Lynn also wrote many songs that play throughout the show in a collaboration with Burnett and Roseanne Cash. From her home in Nashville, Lynn spoke with me over the phone about her journey from the suburbs of Atlanta to the studios of Los Angeles. She plays Friday, July 3, as part of FitzGerald’s American Music Festival.
I grew up in the Atlanta area mostly. I remember winning a talent show when I was a freshman in high school and that kind of gave me a nudge and some confidence. From that point on there’s been such a clear focal point.
How did you hook up with T Bone Burnett for True Detective?
T Bone is very easygoing—I don’t think there’s much that could ruffle his feathers. I was a bit more worried. But he’s done it so much and done it so well and he knows to trust his instincts, and I typically do the same. He was very reassuring. He really helped me carve out an identity for the character, the girl that’s singing in the show.
Did you know that you’d be playing the character when you signed up, or did that happen over time?
I’m going to be playing with a full band and we’ll cover material . . . everything from my first record [Have You Met Lera Lynn?] to the more recent stuff. I’ll have bass player Robby Handley, who I met about 12 years ago when he was studying jazz bass; pedal steel player Joshua Grange, who produced The Avenues; and drummer Tommy Perkinson, who’s so great at adapting the drums from my albums for the live show.
