Theo Lawrence grew up in Paris and lived there until he was 24 years old, when he moved to Bordeaux, a port city in the southwest of France.

Both places boast an abundance of charms, of course.

Neither is exactly the country music capital of the world.

But that didn’t stop Lawrence from discovering the genre and its old pals pop, soul and rock ‘n’ roll.

“Being from Paris, I didn’t grow up around country (music) at all. But very early on, I got serendipitously exposed to rock ‘n’ rollers like Elvis Presley and the Rolling Stones and so on,” said Lawrence, who visits Volcanic Theatre Pub Tuesday. “All these people were gateways for me to discover the rest. No one introduced me to any of that, but I was mysteriously and almost magically drawn to it.”

Pull Quote

“It’s got the superpower to enhance my environment as it appears to me.”

Since then, Lawrence — who recently relocated to Austin, Texas — has immersed himself in the rich history of American music. Ask him about his influences and inspirations, and he’ll list a litany of singers, songwriters, players and producers ranging from Lee Hazlewood, Bert Berns and Felice and Boudleaux Bryant to Loretta Lynn, The Everly Brothers and Solomon Burke to Doc Watson, Flatt and Scruggs and Ola Belle Reed.

“I breathe and live those sounds as much as I can,” he said. “You have to … do your homework if that’s the music you’re going for.”

Lawrence has not only done the homework, he’s an A+ student. For evidence, check out his excellent 2023 album “Chérie,” a collection of 12 songs that deftly draw from early rock and rockabilly, Brill Building pop and all manners of folk, bluegrass and country from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s. He’s so committed to this blend of styles — and so skilled at executing it — the album sounds less like a modern artist influenced by a bygone era and more like a long-lost recording from that era that has been unearthed, dusted off and dropped on the turntable, timeless as ever.

Fair concerts feature a diverse array of sounds

The result is positively transportive: Close your eyes tight enough when “Chérie” is spinning, and you might just feel like you’ve been shipped back to a time that feels like an entirely different plane of existence than the one we live in today.

That’s kind of how it feels to Lawrence, too.

“(I love the) atmosphere, the different worlds it makes me travel to, the feeling of euphoria and excitement it gives me,” he said about the music that influences him. “It turns life into a movie, a poem or a photograph when I hear those sounds. It’s got the superpower to enhance my environment as it appears to me.”

If You Go

What: Theo Lawrence, with The Shining Dimes

When: 9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, doors open 8 p.m.

Where: Volcanic Theatre Pub, 70 SW Century Drive, Bend

Cost: $15

Contact: volcanictheatrepub.com