Lauren Jenkins Owns Her Truth on Multi-Faceted ‘No Saint’

Lauren Jenkins is a true creator, defying boundaries and refusing to confine herself to one art form to tell her story. Her dynamic debut album No Saint proves this, serving as an all-encompassing look into Jenkins’ Nashville journey that began half a decade ago.

The up-and-coming country star was studying acting at the esteemed William Esper Studio in New York when she signed with Big Machine Label Group in 2014, a move preceded by years in the film and TV industry, not only appearing in front of the camera in the 2012 film Deadline and made-for-TV movie Tough Trade written by Orange is the New Black creator Jenji Kohan, but also gaining experience behind-the-scenes working as a production assistant, photographer and script supervisor, among other roles. Not one to accept the mindset of choosing one passion over another, Jenkins was actively engaged in music while balancing her acting jobs. “I’ve never liked that conversation,” she says of pursuing only one path. “To me, it’s always been storytelling. I’ve always thought ‘why can’t I do both? Why can’t I be a storyteller in both realms?’”

Operating in both artistic fields is precisely what she’s done. Knowing there was a grander story to her songs, Jenkins created a three-part film series using a trio of the album’s poignant tracks, “Makers Mark and You,” “Running Out of Road” and “No Saint.” She convinced the label to allow her and a group of friends to travel to New Mexico to create the film, making the 1,500-mile road trip from North Carolina. Though a true artistic experience, making the project was also a grueling one. The team made their first trip in the winter, surviving on a diet of beans and rice while sleeping on the floor of a ranch house that didn’t have heat, before venturing back a second time in the summer, braving the scorching heat and massive wasps. But the struggle was worth it, as Jenkins trusted her team to help bring her vision to life, resulting in story co-written, co-produced and starring Jenkins as a singer-songwriter trying to find her voice in the midst of a troubled relationship, narrated by her smoky vocals on the thought-provoking tracks.

“We had turned in the three-part music video series, which intentionally told a story in chapters, but didn’t give you all of the answers. You still had questions,” Jenkins explains, calling the film-making experience “one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever done in my career.” “I saw that I was getting full body chills. I felt in my bones that it was awesome. I think that was a hard switch to flip, but I was able to switch it, which allowed us to do and make exactly what I wanted without fear of people liking it or not liking it.”

Additionally, the album itself is a portrait of honesty for Jenkins, especially on the title track. Co-written with fellow up-and-comer Ingrid Andress, Jenkins cites it as one of the songs she felt most vulnerable writing for the album. When she initially began penning “No Saint,” the lyrics and guitar melody kept resurfacing in Jenkins’ mind, describing how the song kept “nagging” at her. Seven months later, she linked up with Andress and the two finished the track, writing all night until the sun came up.

“I think the turning point was I was starting to get to a point of being done apologizing for my flaws and apologizing for being human. Once I was getting to that point, I was like ‘I’m just going to say it because I need to and I have to,’” she says of the song’s nature. “It wasn’t until I started playing it live that I realized that other people were responding to it as well, and then it became almost more important. Then it became not my song anymore -it was more for other people, to help other people be okay with being human and not apologizing.”

Confidently accepting herself is at the cornerstone of not only Jenkins’ artistry, but her being. As she reflects on her mindset upon moving to Nashville, wanting to figure out the rules of the industry and how to play by them, No Saint is a statement of how she ultimately rejected those rules, combining her passions to create a project that captures the meaningful steps in her self-discovery.

“I feel like this record makes complete sense because it is this mix of first chapters and last chapters and some of the in-between,” she explores. “I hope that when I’m in country music, I’m bringing honesty and being real and not apologizing. I think that not only country music, but just the world, could use more of that in general, and not being afraid to speak your truth.”