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Taylor Rae

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Singer/songwriter Taylor Rae walks through life projecting a calm self-awareness. And, while there is an aura of purposeful intent in every stride she takes, every note she sings and every chord she plays, there is also a sense of natural ease in every action. This is some still water – and it runs deep. It all began in California with Taylor Rae Vencill’s birth in Santa Cruz. Raised in nearby Ben Lomond, her eclectic musical journey initially took her from the Central Coast to Los Angeles. Taylor played legendary venues Moe’s Alley, Kuumbwa Jazz, the Catalyst and Hotel Cafe, and earned spots at popular area festivals, including DIO Fest (Boulder Creek) and Redwood Mountain Faire (Felton). In 2017, Taylor won Santa Cruz NEXTies Musician of the Year Award and the next year she struck out for Texas, landing in the musical wonderland of Austin. Since then, Taylor has performed at the legendary Austin nightspot Stubb’s second stage, Nashville’s renowned Bluebird Café, Lexington’s The Lyric Theatre and the Asheville, NC Isis Music Hall. She has shared the stage with a variety of artists including Brandy Clark, Pokey LaFarge, Sierra Hull and The Head and the Heart. Taylor sang her first song, a cover of Carole King’s “It’s Too Late” at the age of two. She wrote her first song at eight, and by age 10, she had filled entire notebooks with her original lyrics. Taylor was inspired not only by the natural surroundings of her youth, but also the music of Bonnie Raitt, King, Janis Joplin, Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones, Jewel, Simon & Garfunkel and Steely Dan, among others. Knowing what her future held, Taylor taught herself guitar at 12 and, by age of 15, played her first paid gig. Since then, she has lived a nomadic life, coloring a bit outside the lines, and exploring the ever-evolving definitions of Americana, Folk, Jazz and Blues - and the vagaries of the human condition. She has earned comparisons to Jones, Maren Morris, Joss Stone and Grace Potter.