Nikki Lane has been on a Nashville tear this week, culminating with a pop-up appearance Wednesday night during Lukas Nelson’s headlining show at Chief’s, during which she sang “Born Runnin’ Outta Time,” off Nelson’s upcoming album American Romance . By show’s end, Lane was once again onstage, harmonizing on another song — and sparking up what appeared to be a tightly rolled joint.
Fostering a give-no-fucks attitude has always been part of Lane’s appeal , but last year she let her guard down to show the woman inside when announcing the death of her father, Keith Frady. That heavy loss runs through Lane’s mournful new song, “Woodruff City Limit,” an origin-story piano ballad produced by Butch Walker . “I was born in a mill town in 1983/same as those with my name that came before me,”