Taylor from the Hills

"I grew up in one of the poorest counties in the United States, and while there are amazing people and beautiful places, there is also a ton of crime and corruption that is often overlooked in Appalachia. I used ‘Bible Belt’ as a way to tell the very real story of people who just ‘do what they have to do’ to get out of their situation."

(Taylor Austin Dye / procountrymusic.com, June 22, 2023)

One theory is that the name of the US state of Kentucky originates from the term Kenta Aki, which has its roots in the Algonquian language of the Shawnee and which means something like land of our fathers. Today, Kentucky is known, among other things, for its hilly landscape. And the reference "Hills of Kentucky" has long since become a familiar term.

From there (more precisely: the small community of Owsley in eastern Kentucky) Taylor Austin Dye began moving the center of her life to Nashville in 2018 with regular trips. It was her enthusiasm for music which accompanied her from her earliest childhood days and which ultimately made her make the move to Music City for good. Just about the time when the world came to a standstill under the pandemic.

But Taylor Austin Dye took the time to discover social media, in particular TikTok, and began making a name for herself there. All the while, her fan following grew and the artist eventually dubbed them the Ride or Dye. In December of 2019 she introduced herself to the wider public with the first independent release of her self-written song 'Mean'. Which does not quite describe her as a wallflower:

I just can’t remember
the last time I went out,
without showing out
or getting kicked out of the bar.
 

And I can’t help I do it to myself,
I always take it too far,
if I drink a shot of whiskey.

(Mean / Taylor Austin Dye)

She began working on her own musical style with more songs following: a fusion of country with some southern rock roots. Or as she emphasized in an interview with kentuckycountrymusic.com in April of 2022: "I remember when I picked up my first instrument when I was five.  I wanted to be a rock star; I wanted to be just like Hank [Williams] Jr. I just always knew it.  I never had a backup plan."

And with celebsecretscountry.com she added in August of 2023: "So I’m country for sure, but I also draw from like southern rock. Like I’m a huge Koe Wetzel fan. I love Nickelback. Like, I love Eminem. I’m all over the place, so it’s more of like a rockin’ country type vibe. Like Gretchen Wilson, but make it a little Koe Wetzel."

Nevertheless, she had already stated in an interview with pulsemusicmagazine.com in 2021 where her greatest passion lay: "I do love all genres of music, but country music has always held a special place in my heart because of its storytelling nature. There is something so personal and deeply connecting about listening to a song that you can relate to and feeling every breath and phrase that comes across."

In February of 2023 she eventually put all these elements together. The result was a song about domestic violence called 'Rest In Peace', which has become her most successful song to date with over 3 million streams on Spotify. In this murder-ballad she kills the man who cheated on and beat her little sister. At the same time she set her musical tones: 

His momma's still cryin'
and the preacher keeps on lyin'.
No, he was not
a man of God.
'Cause he'd been caught too many times.
Was a thief and a cheater, a natural born deceiver.
But the moment that he beat her,
his ass was mine.

(Rest In Peace / Chris Utley, Nicole Croteau, Taylor Austin Dye)

'Bible Belt' followed in June 2023. A song that throws flashlights of bleak life in a rural small town onto the wall and wants nothing more than be able to leave it all behind. A topic so difficult that for a long time no one wanted to write the song in the first place: because it would stand no commercial chance. And yet today it stands at almost 1 million streams on Spotify.

If God's still listenin',
I'm prayin' like hell we
get out of these hills.
Get off of these pills
and pay them bills with all our clothes on.

And one day I won't feel wrong,
born into this fire.
Don't wanna die here,
I just want someone to see me.
No, I didn't choose my family.

(Bible Belt / Nicole Croteau, Chris Utley, Rob Pennington, Taylor Austin Dye)

 

It is the line from this song (get out of these hills) that has become the title of Taylor Austin Dye's first studio album released on September 22, 2023. "Out of These Hills" contains 9 songs and allows her to showcase the full spectrum of her style. "This album has everything," says Taylor Austin Dye. "'Bible Belt' was inspired by a hooker, and 'Rest in Peace' is about domestic abuse. The album has everything from partying, death, grief, cheating, and loss."

This project now allows her to also show her quieter side. She does this very well on 'The Green Truck', which is dedicated to her late father, and on 'I Don't Wanna Understand' about a betrayed love. The album ends in a particularly touching way with the title 'She's Superman', which was not only co-written by renowned songwriter Tom Douglas, but which is dedicated to a single mother from the eyes of a daughter and which sounds a little autobiographical:

Shе never cared what pеople thought,
in the church or BP parking lot.
Said "Don't forget, no matter what
You look folks in the eye".

Sixteen, I didn't get a car.
She'd been keeping quarters in a jar,
bought me my very first guitar.
And that's why I'm here tonight.

(She's Superman / Brett Taylor, Richie Sessions, Tom Douglas, Taylor Austin Dye)

On November 24, 2023 Taylor Austin Dye re-released 5 songs from the album as a "Out of These Hills" - stripped version, underlining her hands-on and live-driven approach to music. Taylor Austin Dye is still only signed to a small label (LMG Records). But chances are good, that that could change anytime. Because as her uncle said when he gave her good advice on the way to Nashville: "Don’t be the watered-down version of anything. No one wants to hear the Walmart clean version.  Be who you are and don’t lose your accent!"