The Pegasus Awards

	Lauren Oxford IF

Pegasus Awards
Award	Year	Category
	2023	Best Writer/Composer

 

Pegasus Nominations
Year	Category	Sample
2021	Best Performer
2020	Best Performer
2019	Best Writer/Composer
2018	Best Writer/Composer

 

Lauren Oxford (formerly Lauren Cox before marrying in April 2022) is a songwriter, folksinger, and multi-instrumentalist who stumbled into filk by befriending Cat Faber (who is still her very favorite convention travel partner) and never looked back once she found her chosen family, who have in turn supported, nurtured, and encouraged her every step along the way of her ever-expanding musical journey. Her songs are deeply vulnerable excavations, full of unexpected chords and crystalline imagery that aim to grab people and make them feel. Though they reward close listening, it's also easy to just sit back and be enveloped in the rich earthiness of her alto voice. Though her songs are intense, they don't feel as heavy when paired with her infectious enthusiasm, her goofy sense of humor, and a genuine love for people that injects an earnestness into everything she does.

Lauren has been a guest at conventions across the States, including Toastmaster at Consonance 2022 & GAFilk 2020 and Music GOH at WindyCon 2022. She's also the Toastmaster for 2023's OFFF, and the International Guest of Honour at the UK FilkCon in 2024. Her self-titled debut album was recorded by Eric Distad with dear filk friends in Oregon and released at OVFF 2022. She is also one fourth of The Starlight Darlins, a folk singer-songwriter queertet who combine their stunning original songs with carefully arranged banjo, fiddle, guitar, and four-part harmony (and don't worry, she's presently strong arming the other three into filk as fast as she can).

Lauren makes her home in the lush Appalachian mountains of East Tennessee with her wife Emma (a graphic designer & illustrator for the nonprofit partner of Great Smoky Mountains National Park) and their three cats, Ansel, Henri, and Alli.

You can find the whole collection of Lauren-related links here: linktr.ee/laurenoxford

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Representative Work for the 2023 Pegasus Awards

What Rings True (mp3)

Copyright © by Lauren Oxford
All Rights Reserved - Used by Permission

the worry comes, it stays a while
walks holes into my shoes
it dulls the edges of my smile
it loves the dark and sings the blues
beguiling lies it speaks to me
in manner logical and plain,
says, "if you love her, set her free;
she's trapped and you're the windowpane"

that worry comes more than it goes,
but this is what rings true:
not every love will last, i know,
but some of them do,
some of them do

but i cannot draw a line now,
say what's yours and what is mine
my soup of dreams and fears allowed
with yours to intertwine
makes dreams the spice and hope the broth
and fear the steam to rise and fall away;
we cook the excess off
and eat tomorrow what's made today

the worry comes more than it goes,
but this is what rings true:
not every love will last, i know,
but some of them do,
some of them do

love is not the biggest gestures
love is not the highest highs;
it's a series of conjectures
you will constantly revise

i know i'm more than what i've learned
from my parents, from the world
a fading, lonely moth once burned,
my wings would not give up their furl
but you were scared and lonely too
we made our home, we took a chance
our wings now warm, we flew and flew
diurnal moths in sunlight dance

my worries come more than they go,
but this is what rings true:
not every love will last, i know,
but some of them do,
some of them do
my worries come more than they go,
but this is what rings true:
not every love will last, i know,
but some of them do,
some of them do.

 

 

 

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