It wasn't long after arriving at college that North Carolina native Lacy Green realized her professional career would be forever shaped by her intense passion for music. Though her first pursuits at school were aimed at being a music journalist, Lacy had been singing, playing, and writing songs much of her young life and eventually found the lure of performing that music on stage to be too strong. With every gig she landed around campus, her career path became that much clearer.

During her senior year at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2010, Lacy began working on her debut EP with producer and renowned songwriting veteran, Ronnie Bowman. The project includes Lacy's first single, the warm and instantly familiar "For the Summertime," which broke into the Top 100 for country radio singles during the summer of 2011. Since earning her degree last May, Lacy has already conquered her first radio tour, released her debut album, and performed her music all over the country. Lacy continues working feverishly in Nashville writing new songs and preparing for her next full length album release.

Raised in the small town of Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, Lacy grew up singing alongside her family, at school functions and in the local church. Influenced early on by her mother and father's musical tastes, Lacy developed a keen affection for the impassioned performances of legendary soul singers like Sam Cooke and Otis Redding. As she began to develop her own sense of artistry, however, Lacy found herself drawn to the Country and Bluegrass music of artists like The Dixie Chicks, Alison Krauss, New Grass Revival, Patty Griffin and Ryan Adams.

"I love any music that manages to marry different traditions for a sound that is new and innovative, but still authentic to its predecessors," says Lacy. "Old soul music did that. Bands like New Grass Revival and The Band did that. And in my opinion, artists like Miranda Lambert are doing that now."

Lacy's appreciation for merging different musical styles into something new and original has certainly helped to cultivate her own approach to performing, she says. Fans are just as likely to hear a traditional Gospel or Bluegrass tune as they are a Country or Blues number, or even a vintage Motown cover with banjo or fiddle.

Growing up in Pilot Mountain, it's no wonder that Lacy developed a taste for practically any kind of traditional-style American music. The quaint community of just over 1,200 residents is actually the real-life inspiration behind the fictional town of Mount Pilot, portrayed in the classic television series, The Andy Griffith Show.

With her college career behind her, Lacy is more passionate than ever about creating great music for her audience, she says, noting that the most rewarding part of performing is when her songs help someone cheer up after a hard day.

Lacy reveals, "Last week, I had a woman come up to me after the show who told me that she had been having a terrible week and was feeling awful, but that coming and listening to my music made her feel better. That seems small, but knowing that you can have that effect on people simply by doing what you love is absolutely the most rewarding part of being able to play music for a living."