It will be a music-filled homecoming for Taylor Rae Vencill when she returns to Felton for a show in her stomping grounds next weekend.
Vencill will play at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 1 at the Trout Farm Inn with the Taylor Rae Band. Tickets to the all-ages show are $5.
The 20-year-old Vencil is thrilled to be coming home.
“I’m so excited,” she said. “The last time I played a show in Santa Cruz I was by myself with a guitar. It is going to be a huge change. I’m really excited to show everybody what I am doing.”
After graduating from San Lorenzo Valley High School in 2011, Vencill moved to Hollywood to chase her dream. She attends New Visions Institute where she is taking coursework in vocals and how to become an independent artist.
“I’m studying how to be a do-it-yourself artist,” Vencill said during a phone call last week. She said her coursework includes recording, marketing, creating visual media, and how to promote herself.
“They stress being an independent artist,” she said. “I love it.”
Vencill’s musical style has changed since she began writing folk and pop music in high school. Today, she’s the lead singer of her 9-piece blue band, which she describes as southern rock blues.
“It’s definitely a different sound and a lot heavier,” she said. She is influenced by music from Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and the Tedeschi Truck’s Band.
She said a lot of her songwriting is based on the blues and she writes about things in life she is passionate about.
Vencill recently recorded a music video and is working on her first EP. She hopes to move to Nashville, Tenn. after she graduates to pursue a music career.
She plays several shows each month in Southern California and said the music is very rhythmic and “super groovy.” The Trout Farm show will feature several covers and original music.
“No matter what your preferred style of music is, I think everyone will have a great time,” she said.
For information: www.taylorraemusic.com.
