CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Lauren Moses believes success in the music business is part talent, part luck and an awful lot of hard work. Almost a year and a half ago, the blue-eyed 24-year-old from Charleston packed up her fiddle and moved to Nashville to pursue a career in country music.

"It was a little scary," she said. "It was a big step for me."

Music has always been part of her life, but it was more of a preoccupation than an occupation. Moses has a history degree from the University of Virginia and her family owns the Moses auto dealership. Business and education seemed like more likely paths for the GW graduate.

Moses says she started young, babbling songs before she could talk, but it wasn't until she was in fourth grade that she picked up an instrument.

"I started playing violin in fourth grade," she said. "I was in the youth symphony through school."

A few years later, her grandfather, a local musician, took her along with him to old-time music festivals like the Maury River Fiddlers Convention in Buena Vista, Va.; the Old Fiddlers Convention in Galax, Va.; and the Appalachian String Band Music Festival in Clifftop. Through him, she was introduced to traditional music.

Eventually, she switched to fiddle, she says, which was more about a change of perspective than an actual change of instrument. Fiddles and violins are the same thing.

As a fiddler, she competed and won her first award at the Old Fiddlers Convention when she was 15. Later, she picked up two other first-place awards from Maury River Fiddlers, but these were all strictly solo performances. It was for fun. She didn't belong to any bands, wasn't a member of the Charleston area club scene.

"There weren't a lot of places for a girl like me to play in Charleston at the time," she said. "At least, not with people my age. It just wasn't cool."

The music got cooler, thanks to a revival of traditional music brought on in part by the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" She also found people her own age who liked a little old-fashioned twang in their music.

While studying at UVA, she had a noisy upstairs neighbor in her apartment building named Luke who used to practice his banjo. One night, Lauren got out her fiddle and the two played back and forth at each other through the apartment floor and ceiling in a kind of musical duel. Eventually, introductions were made, the two became friends and they formed the Charlottesville-based roots and rock band Six Day Bender.

Moses stayed with Six Day Bender for a couple of years, then left after she graduated from UVA to pursue her own dreams. Six Day Bender still performs, but without a fiddle player.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Lauren Moses believes success in the music business is part talent, part luck and an awful lot of hard work. Almost a year and a half ago, the blue-eyed 24-year-old from Charleston packed up her fiddle and moved to Nashville to pursue a career in country music.

"It was a little scary," she said. "It was a big step for me."

Music has always been part of her life, but it was more of a preoccupation than an occupation. Moses has a history degree from the University of Virginia and her family owns the Moses auto dealership. Business and education seemed like more likely paths for the GW graduate.

Moses says she started young, babbling songs before she could talk, but it wasn't until she was in fourth grade that she picked up an instrument.

"I started playing violin in fourth grade," she said. "I was in the youth symphony through school."

A few years later, her grandfather, a local musician, took her along with him to old-time music festivals like the Maury River Fiddlers Convention in Buena Vista, Va.; the Old Fiddlers Convention in Galax, Va.; and the Appalachian String Band Music Festival in Clifftop. Through him, she was introduced to traditional music.

Eventually, she switched to fiddle, she says, which was more about a change of perspective than an actual change of instrument. Fiddles and violins are the same thing.

As a fiddler, she competed and won her first award at the Old Fiddlers Convention when she was 15. Later, she picked up two other first-place awards from Maury River Fiddlers, but these were all strictly solo performances. It was for fun. She didn't belong to any bands, wasn't a member of the Charleston area club scene.

"There weren't a lot of places for a girl like me to play in Charleston at the time," she said. "At least, not with people my age. It just wasn't cool."

The music got cooler, thanks to a revival of traditional music brought on in part by the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" She also found people her own age who liked a little old-fashioned twang in their music.

While studying at UVA, she had a noisy upstairs neighbor in her apartment building named Luke who used to practice his banjo. One night, Lauren got out her fiddle and the two played back and forth at each other through the apartment floor and ceiling in a kind of musical duel. Eventually, introductions were made, the two became friends and they formed the Charlottesville-based roots and rock band Six Day Bender.

Moses stayed with Six Day Bender for a couple of years, then left after she graduated from UVA to pursue her own dreams. Six Day Bender still performs, but without a fiddle player.

"We just had different ideas," she said. "They're more into the roots rock thing. I'm more traditional and bluegrass."

Musically, Moses says she wants to follow in the footsteps of musicians like Alison Krauss and Union Station, personal musical heroes of hers, whose bluegrass style has branched out into country and pop success.

"It's a long, long road," she said. "I've just got to keep my nose down and push."

She says she's starting from the bottom and working her way up, just like she would if she worked at her father's dealership. She's playing some, appearing at festivals and performing at Nashville clubs. It's all about experience and exposure.

"I'm also writing songs for the first time in my life," she said.

Nashville has been good to her so far. She's pursuing the music full time. She's formed a music publishing company, assembled a band and released a CD produced by pop keyboard player Bill Cuomo and Beeb Birtles of The Little River Band.

It's also led to some odd musical jobs. She's played with Emmy Award-winning newsman -- and singer -- Bob Schieffer (Face the Nation, CBS News) in the group Honky Tonk Confidential.

"I got to play at the White House Press Dinner and the Ryman Auditorium," she said. "It was a lot of fun."

She misses home some, but she gets back about once a month to see family. She'd like to get back a little more and hopes to find a few places that will have her come play. 

"I'd love to do something with FestivALL, and isn't it every musician's dream to play Mountain Stage?"

Reach Bill Lynch at ly...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5195.