For native residents of cultural music hubs, the locale’s unique opportunities tend to be taken for granted. But for folks from comparatively podunk parts of the country, the prospect of a potentially transformative emigration is too good to pass up. Yeah, you can draw parallels to those poor Okies’ desperate westward flight from The Grapes of Wrath, but fortunately the chance of success for musicians is a lot higher than that of Depression-era protagonists.
So let’s talk Nick Taylor, whose sylvan Southeast Texas upbringing indoctrinated with country icons like Patsy Cline, Kris Kristofferson, and Willie Nelson. His tastes expanded to include classic rock and jazz, and the latter inspired a love of singing in high school. But the jazz bug bit it and quit it in some sense, since Taylor quickly ditched a formal degree in favor of the autodidact approach on guitar. And after acclimating to Austin, Nick Taylor put together a band, starting getting paid gigs, and apparently caught the right pairs of ears. We say that because Nashville producers ended up inviting Nick to “Music City, U.S.A.” to give his debut album that added Americana authenticity.
With that regional authority backing him, Nick Taylor only started sharing his stuff on streaming this year. Those singles have been coming out at roughly a monthly pace, incrementally revealing a fuller picture (seriously, check out the individual single artwork) of his introductory LP Not Alone in the process. Ahead of the record’s release on June 21st, plus a show 7-9PM tomorrow night at Austin Eastciders and again 6-8PM next Saturday at Frontyard Brewing out in Spicewood, Nick Taylor’s just gifted us the full-length’s fiddle-fueled fourth lead offering.“Dead Land Future“ was inspired by college days spent navigating a tightrope of Texas farmland master’s studies and hands-on agrarian labor, matching Nick’s rich baritone as he beckons us to find new ways to survive. Societally, it sure can feel like the buzzards are circling, but for Nick Taylor’s promising career, this is clearly only the beginning, no matter where he finds himself next.
- Do you want to submit a song for a Song of the Day feature? Email kutxsotd@kutx.org with the phrase “KUTX Song of the Day” included in the subject line.
Support for Song of the Day comes from The Werd Company.
