Briston Lee Maroney Girlfriend: Sorry girls who are wondering whether American Idol’s Briston Lee Maroney has a girlfriend. It sure looks like he does. That’s the lucky girl with Briston in the photo collage above. Her name is Laura Patterson. And, we must say this, these two look good together. Shall we start calling them BrisLau or LauBri or some other name combo?

Briston Lee Maroney, for those of you who are wondering why we are Famewatching him, is a singer from Knoxville, Tennessee who reportedly made it to the Top 30 of the upcoming season of American Idol. You can follow him on Twitter (@OrchestralPlumb), Facebook (Subtle Clutch), and Instagram (sadly, its now set on private). [For another singer rumored to be on AI XIII, check out our post on Ethan Harris.]

BLM (yeah, we’re calling him this because it’s got a nice ring to it), is part of a band named Subtle Clutch which includes Eli Fox (who plays banjo, dobro, and harmonica), BLM (vocals and guitar), Devin Badgett (vocals, guitar, and ukulele), and Jonathan Bailey (mandolin and guitar). Here’s a band photo which we grabbed from their Facebook page:

Can these boys sing? Well, Inside of Knoxville is impressed by them:

A few weeks ago, as I walked through Market Square on a mission, I stopped in my tracks beside Tupelo Honey. A group of very young men played acoustic instruments and sang like crazy. They sang like they meant what they said, like they had more life experience than possible. Like the music really mattered to them. And they were very good.
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They are a blend of styles. While there is a bluegrass element, they aren’t really bluegrass. Strains of folk music run through their work, but they aren’t really folk. I hear Old Crow Medicine Show, Sister Hazel and maybe a slight Mumford sensibility. They are solid instrumentalists, but it is Briston and Devin’s vocal interplay that I find absolutely delightful. Read the rest.

Check out one of their performances to see whether you agree with Inside of Knoxville’s review of the band and the musical abilities of its members:

Pretty cool, huh? We like ’em. Unfortunately, if Briston’s American Idol run is successful (and he ends up catching the big fish), he might go solo and the band will be disbanded. Right? Makes us wish Subtle Clutch auditioned on X-Factor where they can compete as a group.

Want more American Idol XIII contestants? Check out the Shirtless Alex Preston.

Photo credits: Briston Lee Maroney