Karen Kistler

karen.kistler@salisburypost.com

 

SALISBURY — Music has been a part of Ivory Layne’s life from the time that she was very young, a passion that developed into a career which includes being a pop artist, writer and producer.

On Jan. 25, Layne, who is originally from Denver and moved to Nashville, paid a visit to Salisbury where she has lots of family and filmed a music video for her new single “Mehtropolis.”

“She wrote the music and lyrics and produced this track entirely on her own,” said Madalyn Rhyne, Layne’s sister and manager.

In Layne’s biography, it says that she began songwriting when she was six and by the time she became a teenager, she had taught herself music production, a skill that led her to move to Tennessee.

Anna Chamberlain Mienke, Layne’s cousin who made a cameo appearance in the video, said that “even from a very young age, Ivory would entertain us at the piano or by producing songs in her bedroom on GarageBand. It was always clear that she was meant to pursue this career, and we’re all thrilled to see her living her passion. We can’t wait to see where Ivory’s journey leads her next.”

Layne comes from a creative family, Mienke said, as she said that her mom, Layne’s aunt, is a pianist and professor of music at Catawba College and “other family members have also had careers in music and creativity.”

Layne has performed and spoken at Catawba College on several occasions.

The family is also a close one, especially the cousins, Meinke said, noting that the cousins, which include siblings Madalyn, Ivory, and Mary Beth Hammill; siblings Mieke and Grace Lunsford; and other cousins, siblings Caleb and Emily; and Emma. 

“Growing up, we all played together as kids and even had a “cousins club” that met in our grandparents basement to play games, build forts and put together little performances for our parents,” said Mienke. 

Multiple members of the family were involved in the production of the music video along with Layne, including Tyler Lunsford, director of the video and husband of Grace, who served as the assistant director, and Mienke, who having spent many years in musical theater, made a special cameo appearance in the video.

“It was nice to get back in costume and stretch those muscles again, even if it was a small cameo,” she said. “I’ve been fortunate to watch Ivory’s career blossom and transform through different stages of creativity, and I feel special to be included in a small piece of it.”

Rhyne said when they were deciding on a place to film the music video, they knew they wanted a city feel with a charming downtown area, and Tyler, who is from Salisbury, suggested it for the location.

The song in the video tells of Layne’s frustration to get a big break after 10 years in Nashville, Mienke noted in an email. The filming took place here, however, the song is not about Salisbury.

Filming took place all in one day over the course of nine hours, Rhyne said, as they started the day at Mean Mug Coffee Shop and ended up at the train station.

Other local places featured in the video included Bell Tower Green, Main Street and Fulton Heights.

“The entire process was so much fun, there were tons of laughs and the video shoot just felt more like cousins hanging out,” said Mienke.

She said they received lots of questions and stares during the filming, which made it fun to share with others about Layne and her new project.

“This first song is the beginning of a series of singles Ivory is releasing this year,” said Rhyne, “all written and produced independently.”

Born and raised in Salisbury, Mienke said it was “great to see my hometown featured in the video, and see how excited people seemed about the project when we’d speak to them.”

She also noted how special it was to see her brother-in-law Tyler direct it, as videography has recently become a passion of his.

“I was impressed with how he edited and formulated the story for this video,” Mienke said.

Also in her biography, it said that Layne “has made a name for herself in Nashville and London across multiple genres. She has collaborated with legendary writers and producers such as Jimmy Robbins, Shane McAnally, Natalie Hemby, Lori McKenna, Liam Howe, Eg White, Cam Blackwood, Ash Howes and Ian Archer. As an independent artist, she’s had four consecutive singles played on BBC Radio 2 and is currently releasing new music on all streaming platforms.”

Mienke said that Layne has also shared the stage with others, some of which include The Script, Andy Grammer and Ben Rector, plus she has offered her writing talents to additional artists.

Those wishing to view the music video may do so by going to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbRCh1JSqck

Lunsford wanted to use the train as part of the narrative; and therefore, Rhyne said, “the train station was supposed to be the last shot of the video, signifying Ivory missing her train. What we didn’t know was that a train would run right by us as the last shot of the day. It was truly magical and the whole crew was ecstatic.”