Lanie Gardner announces new album Faded Polaroids for September release

Lanie Gardner has announced her new album Faded Polaroids, due for release in September via BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville. The 18-track collection follows her breakout 2024 debut A Songwriter’s Diary and expands on her diaristic songwriting with a genre-bending mix of country, pop, and indie-rock influences.

The album is led by new track High Divin’, which features Mick Fleetwood on drums — a symbolic full-circle moment after Gardner’s viral cover of Dreams catapulted her to fame. “It’s one of the most important songs on the album for me,” said Lanie Gardner. “I was going through a pretty rough patch and needed to give myself a little tough love.”

Produced by Oscar Charles, Jonathan Singleton, Chris Ganoudis, and Don Miggs, Faded Polaroids is described as a “sonic scrapbook” of personal growth, covering themes of self-reflection, family roots, romantic missteps, and healing. Tracks include Concrete Cowboy, Takin’ The Slow Ride, Love You Like Appalachia, and the nostalgic title track.

Speaking about the album’s inspiration, Gardner said: “I created the idea of Faded Polaroids using actual polaroids. Some brand new, others nicotine-stained, withered, torn and worn from being passed down through the years. It felt like zooming out on my whole life and finally seeing the bigger picture. These snapshots — these songs — are the most beautiful parts of me. They tell the story of where I come from, who I come from, what I’ve learned and who I’m becoming. I hope these songs encourage people to take the time to make their own version of that too. I think it’s important that we all do.”

Originally from Burnsville, North Carolina, Gardner grew up in a musical household and moved to Nashville to pursue her dreams. Her long-awaited Grand Ole Opry debut will take place on Wednesday 6 August 2025, honouring a goal once held by her late grandfather.