Lauren Pritchard arrives at the Hamilton Performing Arts Center on the University of Memphis Lambuth Campus ready to get back to work. It’s a typical summer afternoon in Jackson, Tenn., with skies so blue the sun, and the humidity, are inescapable.

What’s far from typical is the experience students in the UofM Lambuth’s Music & Entertainment program are receiving as a result of sharing a space with Pritchard.

She’s fresh off her Tennessee Queens Tour, a 12-show, 10-state trek throughout May. With a stiff neck and sore left shoulder, Pritchard struggles to turn her head. It’s just one of the many indications of the physical toll it takes to spend roughly 200 days a year on the road. Those travels include her many projects as the musical artist LOLO and as an accomplished songwriter in both mainstream music and musical theatre.

These days, when Pritchard isn’t in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville or on tour across the country, she can often be found at the UofM Lambuth, where she’s been working since February 2019 as an artist-in-residence. A Jackson native, Pritchard found her way back home in September 2018 to be closer to family and start living the life she’d been envisioning for herself.

She’d been gone since leaving at the age of 16 for Los Angeles. Her career led to additional relocations to London and New York. As a teenager, she played a prominent role in the original cast of “Spring Awakening,” a Broadway hit that won eight Tony Awards. She’s released two albums of her own and worked as a songwriter for some of the most well-known acts in the music industry. Her resume includes writing credit for Panic! at the Disco’s “High Hopes” — Billboard’s No. 1 rock song of 2019.

More than 15 years after her career truly took off, Pritchard has returned to the place where she’s most comfortable. She spent much of the spring working on “Songbird.” She’s in charge of the music and lyrics for the critically-acclaimed musical with Broadway potential. There are also three other musicals, two albums and a handful of other projects she’s utilizing UofM Lambuth to create. In the process, the students within the UofM Lambuth Music & Entertainment program are getting a one-of-a-kind experience interacting with her.

“This is my happy place,” Pritchard said.

“It always has been. Some of the most important music I’ve written in my life, I’ve written here.”

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Pritchard began performing in the theatre at the Hamilton Performing Arts Center as a 9-year-old and continued until her talents took her across the country. She’s known Jeremy Tubbs — director of Music & Entertainment at the Lambuth Campus — most of her life.

“This building and the revival of this campus, especially the arts programs at this school and what Jeremy is doing, are deeply important to me,” Pritchard said. “It is something that raised me.”

Because of that personal connection, she didn’t just return to continue working toward her own ambitions. She also found purpose at the UofM Lambuth interacting with the students. A few of those within the program have had the opportunity to record demos for “Songbird” and even perform with Pritchard, while she’s also been very open to serving as a mentor.

“She utilizes this program,” Tubbs said. “The students are able to do multiple things with her while she’s here, and that’s invaluable to their future. She’s given them so much knowledge. She knows what it takes to sell millions and millions of records, she knows the publishing side, the licensing side, all of it. They’re getting to see the process of recording a record with someone who has done so many different things in
the industry.”

Bryton Wallace graduated from the UofM Lambuth music program last spring. As a drummer with aspirations of filling a variety of roles in music, he’s had the chance to perform with Pritchard and pick her brain regarding the modern-day industry.

“She wants to see us progress and see us do well, which is really awesome,” Wallace said. “Her songs are on the radio right now. We know what she’s saying is what we’d see if we got a job tomorrow. Knowing I can work with her gives me a lot of confidence to work with anyone in the business.”

Between travel obligations for her many projects, Pritchard plans to continue her artist residency at UofM Lambuth. She could live and work in a number of large cities across the country, but nowhere else is she able to fulfill her desire to help the students in this program.

“Anything I can do to help make their lives easier, I want to be a part of that,” Pritchard said. “Their talent is extraordinary and deserves to be shared with the world. Being welcomed into the program and being able to share in their experience here is so much fun for me.”

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The City of Jackson’s rich music history has helped give students access to prominent professionals in addition to Pritchard.

W.S. Holland — Johnny Cash’s drummer for nearly 40 years — lives in town and has regularly interacted with the program. The late Carl Perkins, a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer who wrote “Blue Suede Shoes,” formerly resided in Jackson. Much of his family still lives in the area and has also been willing to give their time to Tubbs’ students.

Tubbs himself has a wealth of experience and knowledge from 25 years as a musician, manager, teacher and mentor. With his vast connections built during that time, the program at UofM Lambuth has seen many accomplished faces come through to help provide different perspectives and enhance the educational experience.

Johnathan Singleton, a songwriter in Nashville who has penned several country music hits working with the likes of Gary Allen, Billy Currington, Tim McGraw and others, visited UofM Lambuth last April. Singleton is currently partnered with country singer Luke Combs in a publishing company. After Singleton visited with the students, one of them asked about the possibility of a summer internship. Sure enough, Singleton brought him on board.

“Not having to go outside of Jackson to get this level of education and experience has been incredible,” said Wallace, who is a Jackson native. “I think I’ve seen four No. 1 songwriters since I’ve been here. We have all the equipment and technology all the biggest studios in Nashville have. It’s all right here from an education and experience standpoint.”

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Tubbs’ program stands out in another important way as well — by going far beyond textbooks and notes. It’s interactive and personal with the ultimate goal of preparing every student for the modern-day music industry.

Students don’t have to know what their desired career path may be when they’re freshmen. Tubbs says it’s typical for that to change and evolve regardless. All that’s necessary is a desire for learning. Whether their future lies in performing, law, promotion, technology, studio work or a combination of areas, the program is designed to help students find their best fit and leave
career-ready.

“We never have them get to the point of graduation and wonder what they need to do next,” Tubbs said. “We’ve already had plenty of discussions about that for four years. This is about being very hands-on, building relationships and creating an interactive dynamic as they prepare for a career.

“We want them mentally prepared, financially prepared and help them develop their talent. There are a lot of working parts here.”

Tubbs has been at the school since 2007, when it was still Lambuth University. He oversaw the Music & Entertainment department’s transition into the UofM in 2011 and believes the state of his program is currently stronger than ever with room for growth.

“We are actively in a relationship with this community,” Tubbs said. “When Memphis came in, it was an absolutely fantastic thing for Jackson that this stayed open. This music department is a crucial aspect of that because it’s the only art that we have on campus. And the interest level is steady. As the students go out and work, people see that and we get a lot of our interest from it.”

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Dakota Jackson, a senior from nearby Milan, Tenn., wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted to do when he entered the Music & Entertainment program as a freshman. What he’s found is everything he needs to carve out a career in Memphis, Nashville or anywhere with job opportunities in the industry.

“Through my time in this program, I’ve had the opportunity to learn everything there is to know, from performing to the business side of things,” Jackson said. “That’s what’s so cool about the program. And with the connections Dr. Tubbs has, and even just the amount of people he’s brought in during my time here, we’re all presented plenty of opportunity for internships and even jobs.”

It’s that culture, created by Tubbs and the Jackson community, that’s drawn accomplished talent to campus.

“What Dr. Tubbs has built with this program is so beautiful and smart, and he creates a space where his students are able to be real individuals,” Pritchard said. “They’re not just a whole bunch of a kids in a program. They each are individually cared for based on who they are as creative people and what they really want to do in this industry. That kind of attention to detail that he gives his students, you can’t put a price on that.

“And I don’t know that you can find many programs like this in the United States, period.”