Amid End-of-Year Praise, Lauren Mascitti is on COVID Front Lines

Lauren Mascitti has had one eventful 2020. We all have in many respects, but for Lauren, it’s been especially action-filled. Early in the year, she released what is quickly becoming her breakout record, God Made a Woman. Then in February she competed on Season 18 of American Idol, finding the opportunity to sing two of her original songs on national television, along with country classics such as “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” and “Two More Bottles of Wine.”

Now as 2020 is drawing to a close, Mascitti’s God Made a Woman is receiving renewed interest, and end-of-year praise. Produced by Shawn Camp—with musical contributions from folks like Ricky Skaggs, pedal steel legend Paul Franklin, guitarist Guthrie Trapp, fiddle player Aubrey Haynie of The Time Jumpers, among other notables—it ended up being mentioned in the Best Albums of 2020 post in The New York Times by pop writer Jon Caramanica. It’s also a nominee for Album of the Year here at Saving Country Music.

The fact that Jon Caramanica and The New York Times and Saving Country Music can see eye to eye on this Lauren Mascitti record should tell you just how good it is, and how important it is to not overlook. Caramanica’s #1 album was Sam Hunt’s Southside if that tells you anything, and he regularly picks on Saving Country Music in his “Popcast” podcast. But even he sees the high value in Mascitti’s effort.

But perhaps the most compelling part of this story is that as a level of consensus builds behind God Made a Woman as one of the year’s best by those who actually took the time to listen to it, Lauren Mascitti has been working 2nd shift and double time on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic as part of her other gig as a registered nurse.

“She’s working nights right now, as many shifts as she can handle, to take care of COVID patients,” Lauren’s publicist confirms. “She has been focusing in December on helping work as many shifts as she can as the hospitals in Tennessee are short staffed and everyone is exhausted. She’s temporarily put her music on hold in this heroic effort. We are so proud of her.”

Raised in the small farm community of Louisville, Ohio, it was clear from an early age that Lauren Mascitti was one of those who’d been chosen to perform. Being raised by her grandparents meant the influence and values of classic country music were more present in the home than most, and Mascitti had recorded her first album by the age of seven. Singing in her church’s Gospel choir, she showed early promise that turned into a serious career, and by the age of 12, Mascitti had moved to Branson, Missouri and was performing six nights a week with Gospel singer and former Oak Ridge Boys member Gary McSpadden.

Gospel music was Lauren Mascitti’s greatest influence early on, but she began making regular trips to Nashville by the age of 13, and released her first selection of original songs to the Gospel market by 15. Despite her serious passion for music, Mascitti also attended and graduated college, and became a registered nurse.

Mascitti has been working at the TriStar Horizon Medical Center in Dickson, Tennessee along with other locations in middle Tennessee. In May she participated in a virtual concert for healthcare workers that also included folks like Brad Paisley, Josh Turner, Amy Grant, Jewel, Lauren Alaina, and others. While many of the artists performed from home or other locations, Lauren performed in her scrubs, from her nurse station.

Though Lauren has been taking time from her busy schedule to post classic country covers on Instagram, like she did for the Merle Haggard classic “Today I Started Loving You Again” recently, her primary focus at the moment is helping others. Hopefully, that doesn’t come at the expense of the attention her classic country music deserves. And when it comes to Saving Country Music and The New York Times, it hasn’t.