Lori McKenna's first name is actually Lorraine. She was named after the mother she lost when she was only seven, but whose impact on Lori's life reverberates to this day. In her sixth album, Lorraine, she considers the influence of her mother, who died at roughly the same age Lori is now, as well as her own place in relationship to her husband, family and community. It is her most personal album to date and a return to her original acoustic sound.

After years as a staple of the Boston folk music scene, Lori's music got into the hands of Faith Hill, who fell hard for Lori's songs. Hill recorded three of them for her 2006 album Fireflies. Lori's way of articulating the love, pain and pathos of domestic life had a huge impact on Hill, and Hill's very public championing of Lori's music led other artists to Lori's songs. Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, Alison Krauss, Keith Urban and Lee Ann Rimes are among the many that have recorded her songs in recent years. The increased acclaim for her song craft led to a record deal with Warner Brothers, who released her 2007 album Unglamorous. Working with Tim McGraw (who co-produced the album), an appearance on Oprah and an opening slot on McGraw and Faith Hill's Soul2Soul tour were heady experiences, and Lori is grateful for them. Sales levels that would seem astronomical by the standards of the folk community that nurtured her were not enough for a subsequent regime at Warner Brothers, and they parted amicably. Now with the release of Lorraine McKenna returns to her roots, producing an album of deeply personal songs with universal appeal.