Each year for the past three years, Australia's Cancer Council has held a road race called the Shitbox Rally. Contestants buy cars priced less than 1,000 AUD (hence the name “Shitbox”) and race them over 3,500 kilometers from Melbourne to Cairns. A short video on the Australian website Think Loco titled “The Best of the Shitbox Rally 2012” shows drivers in matching outfits steering creatively decaled clunkers through the outback. Among the video's many oddities is its soundtrack: a cover of TV on the Radio's “Wolf Like Me” as recorded by Lera Lynn.

OK, fine. A singer from Athens covers a song by a Brooklyn band that ends up on an Australian blog—stranger things have happened online. Still, it's instructive. Lynn's website features a link to the video tucked among various press excerpts from niche outlets like Twang Nation and American Songwriter magazine. The Shitbox connection may be a random one, but it demonstrates Lynn's idiosyncratic appeal—just as her choice of cover song shows her broadmindedness as an artist.

Lynn's 2011 debut, Have You Met Lera Lynn?, is filled with strong songwriting, and Lynn, who formed Athens band Birds & Wire before striking out on her own, sounds confident and experienced. The album remains cohesive even as it incorporates a range of styles. Songs like “Happy Ever After” recall the broad appeal of artists like Neko Case, with whom Lynn shares a similar vocal command.

Even in her originals Lynn displays an awareness of tradition, a truth most apparent on “Whiskey” and “Good Hearted Man,” which summon old country music tropes. Still, it must be mentioned that Lynn has a knack for choosing interesting covers. "I think there are unlimited possibilities, as long as you're true to your own voice, and as long as you do it well, you can do anything," she says. "I don't think genre matters. I think it's all about sincerity and authenticity in your own voice."

When Lynn last played locally, this past March, it was to promote the release of a 7-inch that featured a cover of Johnny Cash's “Ring of Fire.” Lynn reinvents the song as a minor-key dirge, adding a dark, brooding twist all her own—a sly take on a canonical tune.

Lynn's reasoning is straightforward. “I cover songs that I like and that suit my voice and the band… all that unfolds as a result is an afterthought.”

Still, there's no denying that covers are effective ways of reaching out to an audience. Her rendition of Neutral Milk Hotel's “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” at AthFest 2011 was a prime example of this. In the right context, the cover song acts as a point of intersection between artist and listener; both feel like they're in familiar territory.

Having a shorthand that allows for easy connection with an audience is especially handy when dealing with promotion online, something Lynn expresses mixed feelings about.

“The Internet is a huge tool for all DIY musicians. But there is also so much information passing through every second that you really have to generate a ton of content to stay relevant.”

Her penchant for covers offers one way around this problem by establishing a link between herself and more well known artists, even if she insists this is not her motive. (Think of it as a more organic version of the “related” section on a site like Allmusic). Lynn imbues others' songs with enough of her own personality to encourage a casual listener to check out what she's doing on her own.

Lynn recently relocated to Nashville; it seems a good fit for a musician so adept at repurposing others' music while simultaneously fine-tuning her own. Lynn is excited about the move, citing “a resurgence in the musical energy” of the town, which she says owes itself to a “more diverse group of artists [who] are setting up camp there.”

But she still calls Athens home, and the show at the Georgia Theatre this Saturday is a triumphant return for her and bandmembers C.K. Koch, Ben Lewis and Ben Wills. The band has been touring since March—a stretch that included an appearance on "A Prairie Home Companion," as well as a trip to the U.K. this past summer.

After a break over the holidays to work on a new record, the tour will continue through the beginning of next year. Through her hard work and dedication—and her willingness to expand and explore—Lynn's reach continues to grow.