Draft:Laurie Larson

Laurie Larson (born Laurie Ann Larson in Kalispell, Montana on May 4, 1967) is an American rock-pop-new age singer who, since 1985, has shared the stage and the studio with Love's Johnny Echols, Jefferson Airplane, the Strawberry Alarm Clock, George Thorogood, Country Joe & the Fish, Scott McKenzie, Barry McGuire, Michelle Phillips, John York of the Byrds, Albert Lee and members of the Grass Roots. Critics have compared her style to Sarah McLachlan and Enya.

History
Laurie Larson was born in Kalispell on May 4, 1967, and lived on the Flathead and Nez Perce reservations until age 12 until the family moved to the Black Hills. At age 13, having only played violin previously, Jan and Herb Conn who discovered Jewel Cave became her mentors. They taught her how to play bass, piano, guitar and even how to make instruments. Inspired by KKLS radio in Rapid City, South Dakota she started writing songs in the style of her favorite bands Kansas, Poco, the Eagles and Spirit. She started singing with a band called Tandem Felix after moving to Albuquerque.

Marshall Blonstein had encouraged Laurie Larson to record an album, and "Artist's Mirage" was the result. She also began her career in radio as a volunteer DJ in 1983 at KUNM in Albuquerque. Her first commercial job was at KZRR 94 Rock, hired by Frank Jaxon in 1985. She became the Music Director for Progressive Broadcasting under the leadership of John Sebastian pioneering the Classic Rock format in 1991. She worked in groundbreaking radio station research for Critical Mass Media under Steve Casey in 1996, doing music tests and compiling playlists for hundreds of stations coast to coast. Her first programming job was at Classic Rock KKHG in Tucson Arizona. Larson programmed KSLX, KKNT, KPXQ, KXXT in Phoenix, Arizona; KTKZ AM & FM, KKFS, KFIA in Sacramento, California and KDOW and KFAX in San Francisco, California. Larson also worked as a news reporter for Clear Channel's national network from 2003 to 2011.

Larson ran for the Arizona House of Representatives in 2000 and 2002 and was the assistant to the chairman of the Democratic Party from 1999 to 2003. She was behind the first binding Internet Presidential election in 2000. She was hired by her Republican opponent Tom Horne to be a program Manager at the Arizona Commission for Post Secondary Education and the Arizona Department of Education from 2001 - 2005. Larson also worked for the Maricopa County Elections Department from 2005 to 2020.

Laurie has worked for Kitt Peak National Observatory from 1993 - 1996. She also founded the Progressive Rock Hall of Fame in 2008 and ran it until 2013. Larson's art and photography has been showcased on television and in several publications and galleries. Her concert photography was included in the Miracles Out of Nowhere documentary about the band Kansas, is on the cover of Georgiana Steele-Waller's autobiography, Vintage Guitar Player Magazine and included in Rock manager David Spero's recent biography. She has authored three books and to date has recorded five albums. Larson continues to write songs, record, tour and create art.