Aubrie Sellers is as progressive of a country artist as you’ll find, yet few will accuse her of being rooted in any other genre. The architect of “garage country” mixes punk rock, blues and bluegrass like a mad scientist. The results are … well, there’s just no other way to say it. The results are pure Aubrie Sellers.

It’s hard to recall an artist using a warm, inviting voice in the way this 2017 Taste of Country RISER does. She leans so hard into dark subject matter it's almost ironic. One or two songs from her New City Blues album may make you shift around in your seat, but most are built upon thick guitar riffs and raw production. In many ways, that’s who she is.

“Sometimes I'll meet somebody and they've looked me up online or whatever and they've never heard me talk or met me,” Sellers says, smiling. “I think they expect me to be a lot darker than I am and maybe less — not less friendly — but I guess I'm drawn to that dark emotional music. Maybe they think I'm a little more brooding.”

“I’m a very friendly, smiley person,” the “Liar, Liar” singer adds, laughing. “I think I get it all out in my music and then that's enough.”

Bet You Can’t Look Away from Aubrie Sellers Singing “My Babe”

Sellers is a woman of distinct tastes and she protects her art. New City Blues was released independently at first because she didn’t want anyone to alter it before or after the fact. She introduced herself as an album artist, and it worked to the tune of mass media coverage, critic’s lists (the album made ToC’s list of the 10 Best of 2016) and a record deal with Warner Music Nashville.

Somewhere in there, Miranda Lambert took notice. Sellers, daughter of Lee Ann Womack and songwriter Jason Sellers, is currently opening up the Highway Vagabond Tour, playing venues she’d only imagined in her worst nightmares. For years she battled intense stage fright, but the terrors never outright won. In time she prevailed, although admittedly her first show opening for Lambert brought back memories.

“I think that if I've learned anything from her it's that if you stick to your guns and stick with it, it'll work out for you in the end,” Sellers says when pressed for a lesson Lambert taught her.

“I remember talking to her before I had released my record … and I said, ‘Well it's really different,’” she continues. “That's all I said, and she said, ‘Well look — basically it worked for me.’

“I think it's important to have those people in your life who are successful, who've done this already and to kind of remember at the end of the day that the most important thing is to make sure you’re being true to who you are musically.”

Watch Sellers full RISERS profile interview above before enjoying a raw, acoustic performance of "Liar, Liar." In addition to the Lambert tour, she'll also join the Cadillac Three's Black Roses Tour in 2017.

Aubrie Sellers On Set at the 2017 RISERS Shoot

Aubrie Sellers Opens Up About Stage Fright, Family and More

More From