In March 2011, Lera Lynn released her debut solo album, Have You Met Lera Lynn?, to international acclaim. Hand picked from Lynn’s collection of songs written over the previous decade, the album elucidates a painstaking inventory of past experiences, as well as artistic challenges in her present pursuits, and her hopes for the future. Lynn won the 2011 Chris Austin Songwriting Competition held at Merlefest for her song, “Bobby, Baby,” sharing the honor with such alumni as Gillian Welch & Tift Merrit. “Bobby, Baby” also won an award for Best Alt. Country Song in the 10th Annual Independent Music Awards Vox Pop poll, which is determined not by judges but by online fan voting. Just as important to her, Lynn walked away with "Best Country Artist” at her hometown of Athens, GA's 2012 Flagpole Music Awards. In 2014, Lynn began work on creating music for the second season of the critically acclaimed HBO crime drama series True Detective. Working with songwriter and music producer T Bone Burnett, the two collaborated with singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash at Burnett's home in Los Angeles. Regarding the experience, Lynn said, “Working on the soundtrack for True Detective with T Bone allowed me the freedom to really explore my dark side. And collaborating with Rosanne Cash was a dream come true."After approving the musical tracks, series creator Nic Pizzolatto cast Lynn as a recurring character who performs the songs in a dive bar frequented by the main characters.
