Lauren Daigle leaving Nashville, heading back to Louisiana; singer awarded State Ambassador Award
BATON ROUGE — Lauren Daigle said she’s moving back home to Louisiana, the same day she was honored by Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser as one of the “greatest ambassadors” of the state.
A week after Daigle made Billboard history, she returned to Louisiana for a homecoming concert at the Raising Cane’s River Center in Baton Rouge for her Look Up Child Tour. Louisiana Office of Tourism and Nungesser invited The Christain Post to be part of the state’s weekend events, which kicked off with Daigle’s concert.
Before the singer hit the stage, she was awarded the honorary Mayor-President plaque backstage by representatives of Baton Rouge. Daigle then made an appearance at the Louisiana Office of Tourism and Nungesser’s VIP tailgate party, catered by Daigle’s father, Mark, who owns On the Spot Catering. There, Nungesser presented Daigle with the "True Louisiana Ambassador Award."
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"Tonight is really kind of special because we are here tonight to honor one of the greatest ambassadors we've ever had in Louisiana,” Nungesser said of Daigle as she looked on with gratitude. “Not only is she a superstar, but her values, her family is here tonight, there's nowhere else in the world I would rather be and there's no person I would rather honor than someone who has traveled the country and now going to travel the world telling people how great Louisiana is.”
The two-time Grammy award-winning Christian singer has proudly talked about her Louisiana upbringing throughout her career in the past six years and the liutenant governor wanted her to know how much her promotion of the state has helped increase tourism.
"We had a record number year in tourism and let me tell you, your followers, the people you touch every day are coming to Louisiana by the thousands because of your love and passion for this great state. We are so proud of you and so glad you're a great ambassador. So here's a special award as a great ambassador for the great state of Louisiana. We love you,” Nungesser stated.
Daigle said to everyone in attendance, "Y'all, I do love this state, I love it so much. It fills my core. I'm moving back.”
The “You Say” singer said she loves her current residence in Nashville where she’s been for seven years but added, “I can't help it. I need to get my feet in the mud."
"I miss home, I miss it way too much. I just love my people. I love walking down the street and getting hugs from people that I know. And my family is growing, and I've got my grandparents and I just want to come home and be closer to them. Especially when you're traveling on the road so much, I want to touch down next to the people that I love and know and so, I decided I gotta come home; I miss the soil,” Daigle later told CP.
During her acceptance speech, the Lafayette native joked about swimming with the alligators while growing up and shared that on one of her recent visits back home, her band members jumped in Lake Martin with her despite the alligators in the water.
"Truth is, we grew up swimming in the Atchafalaya waters and I wouldn't change it for nothing, made me who I was today, made me appreciate my family,” Daigle said. “We would go tubing and skiing out there.”
“I love this state so much. I have so many fond memories of this place and I think it takes leaving sometimes to realize how good you really had it someplace. And that's what Louisiana is to me. Every time we come through and my band always says, 'I've never seen you this alive before. I've never seen you act like this before.' And I say, 'Oh it's because of the people … The people do it all, they really do.’ We have the best state of all the 50, if I can say that so humbly."
The singer explained to CP that she was so happy to have a homecooked meal from her father, which included, “Shrimp and grits, some jambalaya,” as well as gumbo for after the show.
"I am living the best life! The best thing about coming home to Louisiana is just getting to exhale. I'm with people that understand my jokes," she said.
Daigle will venture out on her first headline world tour, “Lauren Daigle World Tour,” in 2020.
She will travel to 44 cities, starting in Melbourne, Australia, on Jan. 18, 2020. She will then head to the U.S. in February, with stops in New York, Nashville, Houston, Boston, and Dallas, as well as the Canadian cities of Toronto and Montreal.
The world tour is scheduled to conclude in her hometown of Lafayette.
Tickets for “Lauren Daigle World Tour” are available at www.laurendaigle.com/tour.
