We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Blair Woods a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Blair, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

So I’ve been musically involved since I was really young. My grandfather was also a singer/songwriter, vocally similar to Bob Dylan. My grandmother also played piano and between the two of them, taught me how to play and sing. My parents both played instruments in school and all of my uncles played in bands at some point. So it shouldn’t have shocked anyone when I stayed in choral and drama programs throughout school.
The funny part, I think, was how shy I was. I still am very much an introvert, and I think it would surprise a lot of people to know how many of their musical heroes are actually introverted as well. It takes a lot of strength to put yourself out there for the world to pick you apart. I think the strongest people are the ones who have had to hide their truest selves due to how cruel the world can be to someone who isn’t socially “normal”.
Growing up, I would watch people like Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, and Christina Aguilera and think “I want to be up there, I want to do that” and I never really imagined I would be able to because other than my immediate family, no one really believed in me. It wasn’t until I was a little older and a little braver that I occasionally would sing or hum in front of trusted friends who would unknowingly be the encouragement I needed to really start the pursuit of a career in this industry.
I decided once I had left high school to start posting covers on social media and they did pretty well so I started YouTubing exercises for vocals and Googling songwriting tips to work on getting my voice healthy and learn how to write my own songs.
I went from a 2.5 octave range to a 5.5 octave range by myself and from there I’ve been in and out of vocal coaching for years now.
I moved out to Los Angeles, by myself around 2017/2018, having never traveled past Mississippi before. I had realized I wasn’t really going to get too far in the pop scene in a small town that only gave ‘flowers’ to the cover bands and country artists, and I knew I wanted more than that out of this career path. I’ve always enjoyed high risk/high reward and recognized the work you have to put into something if you really want it, but even having that mentality I had no idea what I was in for when I headed west, doubting just about every choice I made until late 2018.
Fast forward to almost a year after being out in Los Angeles, trying to figure out where and how to get into the industry, I get followed and messaged by the drummer at the time of my favorite rock band, “Outline in Color”. Nick and Skaggs (their current front man) had found me somehow by my terribly self-produced projects on a Soundcloud (that I promise you will never find haha). They reached out because Nick had been producing music and wanted to produce and help develop a pop artist.
I’d like to chalk it up to luck, but I’m no stranger to manifestation and fate. I knew from a young age (maybe not as much then as I do now), that I would be someone worth listening to. However, it wasn’t until I was actively writing and recording my own songs that I truly realized the potential I had as a professional.
I learned a lot of my songwriting skillset from my producer and mentor Nick Taylor. He taught me most of what I know about writing, arranging, etc. The sequins, dance numbers, and world tours initially are what drew me in to this lifestyle, but it was definitely the songwriting that solidified the dream into a reality for me.
I could never imagine choosing any other career path, I wouldn’t be nearly as fulfilled as I am in music.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am most notably a pop singer/songwriter, but I also adore all genres. I write and sing alternative, R&B, hiphop, pop rock, punk rock, rock, and even country- just for fun. I love the way a good song can make you feel. Sometimes it’s the lyrics, or maybe the instrumental, but most often times for me it’s the vocal arrangements and production of the song that draws me into the track like it’s its own universe. I have always been surrounded by music, but it wasn’t until I moved to Los Angeles that I was really introduced to the real industry.
I also am looking into writing for and with other artists more this year. I would love to collaborate or feature/lend my vocals to different projects too, that’s something I really have been craving to start doing.
I have recently been helping arrange top lines for a few artist friends and it was so much fun to help build, coach, and see the result. Sometimes they would even surprise themselves and that is such a rewarding feeling. I learned all of that from my producer Nick, I implement his patience and some of the way he explains/ coaches artists in sessions because he makes it always seem so easy. I also implement basic vocal coaching break downs for any runs (I’ve picked this up from personal and professional experience over the years).
I am also learning how to produce, because I would love to be on a professional level to produce and submit songs I may not use for my own projects. So far I can produce my own demos to help aid in saving time in actual sessions (artists, do this if you can, thank me later).
I’m most proud of my desire to learn, I never had that in school, but now that I’m doing things that interest me, I’ve fallen back in love with learning and expanding my knowledge within music/writing/production. I would love to have one track at least, on a project that I produced myself. I’ve been getting a lot better at the instrumental production, I still have a lot to learn, but I want to keep going and eventually be able to produce my own vocals as well as others’.
Music is crazy, there’s so many options even within the few simple formulas to really take a song and make something new and beautiful.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding thing about being an artist is sharing what we make with the world and fellow artists and the connections you can make in doing so. Hearing my song lyrics yelled back at me for the first time was a wild experience. There is truly nothing more rewarding than knowing you’ve made art that builds a community of people around you who love and support not only you, but each other.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

There are many goals and reasons behind my driving force to keep going and build myself as an artist, but the main one will always be family. I want to give a name to the family that my past relatives weren’t able to. Especially my maternal grandfather, known to us as Bapa, yes with a B. He was a phenomenal singer and songwriter and I want to be able to carry out and finish what he started.
I am working on a project with a file of his songs we found on a cassette tape so hopefully one day he gets the recognition he deserved.
I will not stop until I have succeeded in taking care of my mom and dad while making a name for myself and my Bapa.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.blairwoodsmusic.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/blairwoodsofficial
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/blairwoodsofficial
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/blairwoodsmusic
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/blairwoods
• Other: TikTok: blairwoodsofficial

Image Credits
Photoshoot images by Dino (@dinoorende) Event images by Albert Ortega (@albertlortega)