We were lucky to catch up with Holly Taylor recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Holly, thanks for joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

Musicians, Writers, Actors and Artists are usually among the top of society’s list of ‘hopeful dreamers’ when it comes to making a full time career of their talents. Indeed, I was both hopeful in life, and a dreamer by nature, so, of course I took ‘the path less traveled by’, and that did make all the difference! I’m told I share a little DNA with the poet Robert Frost, so maybe that helped too. I felt that music has been an auspicious path for me, and I attribute that to a couple of factors. One, I have learned to be versatile as a multi-instrumentalist, being available even as a student as a pianist, a vocalist, a percussionist and eventually a guitarist. Secondly, at that time, female percussionists were not very common, so there was a certain curiosity of support that came with the territory. By the time I was in junior high, I was well instructed by my private teachers to work towards music scholarships for college from the start of high school. With that goal in mind, it was a whirlwind of performing in The Youth Symphony of Kansas City, summer travel to Europe with The American Musical Ambassadors Band, and working hard to earn high ratings in my school’s regional and state competitions on marimba solos. The path proved to be reliable, and I attended UMKC’s Conservatory of Music on scholarship.
Being versed in more than one language of musical service has been my key to make a full time career of music over my entire life. I eventually chose music therapy over percussion performance, because I wanted to really make a difference to individuals and have a wide range of employment options. My music therapy career allowed me to work in hospitals, schools, community centers, behavioral health centers, private homes, churches and the like. During college I supported myself teaching music lessons, and have often returned to it as a steady means of support and as a contribution to the artistic community. These last ten years or so I returned to the world of performance, but this time as a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist for a few bands that have ranged from folk to reggae to jazz funk fusion to spiritual music and more. I continue to love variety, and again I have found it very important to nurture the unique qualities that make you memorable in a sea of performers. Even in my band, Folk in the Flow, the element of versatility is my favorite aspect. My co-founding partner and I are both songwriters and multi-instrumentalists which allows us to give a nod to several genres during a show. Between the two of us you may hear guitars, keyboard, mandolin, violin, bass, and drum set depending on the show!

This variety show of my life goes beyond performance. I was hired as the Music Director at Unity of Lawrence in 2018, and have loved working in that role, performing, leading inspirational music and booking other musicians. I tried my hand at writing and directing (and performing!) in a musical called “Beyond the Box: A Transformational Musical”. This was a beautiful community roots effort to make an artistic and, but of a course, a hopeful statement about the world! Keeping up with the trends in using music as therapy, I took the past couple of years to explore Sound Healing. Now, this is another aspect of my music career, providing sound and tuning fork therapies to groups and individuals. I’m so grateful to have options, and express myself in various ways, meeting all kinds of people along the way.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I consider myself, like most creatives, to be multi-faceted. In a song I crafted several years ago, called “Pictures from an Obscured Vision,” I concluded with this hopeful vision: “The truth illuminates as sunlight in a multifaceted jewel, revealing the rutilations, bringing beauty to the world.” To translate or transform experiences, thoughts, feelings and observations into something meaningful and artistic-be it visceral, ethereal, physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, vibrational, social, historical, or radical–these are the implications of being one who works as a creative artist.

I am a multi-faceted soul, who answers to the tune of Mom, musician, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, board certified music therapist, certified sound healer, music teacher, music director of Unity of Lawrence, creative writer, playwright, founding member of Folk in the Flow and StarSister Revival, solo and collaborative recording artist-Holly Taylor and the Soul Thread Legion, and workshop facilitator.

I am currently enjoying being musically steeped in my current town of Lawrence, KS. Recently, I joined the staff of Americana Music Academy to teach percussion, piano, guitar and adaptive lessons, and am contributing to 4th-8th graders at a local Montessori school teaching percussion, choir and hand bell units. On Sundays you can find me at Unity of Lawrence, keeping the flow of service and collaboration, and loving life in the community.

I appreciate the value of this creative collection of musical artists who call this region of the Midwest home. We perform in various locales from Greater Kansas City to the Lenexa City Market, to Folk in the Flow’s First Thursday shows at the iconic Gaslight Gardens in Lawrence, to NOTO’s Art District, and the borders keep expanding. As a music therapist, it doesn’t matter what my role is, I am always believing in music as a transformative tool, a potent and unique channel, and a bridge to harmonize life.

You can learn more and connect with me at www.hollytaylor432.net. PS-the number 432 has been my favorite number since high school, if you asked my why, I would say that it represents wholeness to me. It wasn’t until college that I learned that it was an important healing frequency of sound.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I feel this question is right on time, because it’s at the heart of acknowledging the importance of culture in transitioning times. It’s in our best interest to preserve our natural wonders, and it’s also in our best interest to protect our cultures, our arts, and our voices. What defines a people in history, is their expression, their art and artifacts, their stories, their music, their values, their ways of life. It’s easy to understand this perspective when we take an archaeological and a traditional view of ancient cultures. It’s exciting to discover keys about what was important to our ancestors. That longing of knowledge will continue to be there, but the arts and humanities are a special language that are often only preserved by passing it down through generations.

I am part of the current generation of artists that are consciously sharing the knowledge and experiences with others, with our children, and our greater communities’ children. At the same time, we work in a system where we literally provide our children’s needs based on an income from the arts. Many musicians give up on music as a reliable career, while others live multiple lives at once, working more than one career just to keep up with their cost of living. As I grew up, I witnessed many of the cuts and strains on the arts and music programs in communities, and these things are still happening today in my children’s school district.

Currently I am doing my part in a grassroots effort, spearheaded by the Lawrence Music Alliance, to create working standards for musicians, to increase gig opportunities, and widen the lens of where musicians can perform. We have leaders who continue to make sure we have a voice in the public arena to support the arts. Many of the older mechanisms, such as musicians unions have gone by the wayside while the industry can easily utilize recorded music rather than support people directly. Performance is a competitive field, which I know firsthand and because the agency I have subscribed to has hundreds of local artists on their listings. This tells me it is imperative to generate more support for the arts because so many people are inspired to be part of the artistic culmination of culture, which I believe holds the potential for much healing in society. I see it at my gigs, I read it in the letters of folks who really needed to hear a special song in that moment, or really needed to smile to see children dancing.

Music is a huge part of our collective lives, music has always been in my life, it’s been part of my identity, and I recognize that many people take comfort, and take refuge in music and art movements where they feel heard. The nature of music in our time, is that it has the ability to travel the world. Because of this, music is an international force, and I have been privileged through scholarship and through volunteering to be part of this movement in Folk Alliance International conferences and POSI Empowerment Conferences. This year I was grateful for Folk in the Flow to receive support to attend FAI via scholarship through the Doug Dubois Harmony Fund and the work of the Heartland Song Network and Lawrence Music Alliance, All of these allocations came through the grassroots efforts of local musicians and music supporters. At these conferences I have also witnessed the individuals who feel valued and appreciated by their country’s government who provided their financial support and stipends to support their artistic visions into fruition. So let’s open wide these gates of potential, and through awareness, pass on the messages and the proof in individual lives, that music is a healing force, a vital expression unique to humanity, and it is worth supporting. I recognize many people, not just artists, have financial constraints, and so when an individual takes time to tip, or a business pays you well, it really says thank you for doing what you do; it says, I appreciate that real music coming from your heart. Maybe they understand that it takes practice to do what we do, or the extra hours and expenses in travel. Perhaps it’s a nod to the physical tasks of hauling and maintaining expensive instruments and equipment, or maybe they really appreciated the presence of a moment in performance, a human connection.

This is the circle of life that we are constantly traversing, being a representative of our culture, the stories of our humanity, and our personal artistic expressions. So let us remember and honor the arts in our ecosystems to maintain a thriving, dynamic expression of our cultural humanity. Let’s preserve our values of artistry and humanities for generations to come.
I thank you for caring enough to take the time to read this story of a multi-faceted musician!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

The creative journey is a beautiful one, no matter the details. My mission is about sharing hope and nurturing a sense of wholeness more than those specific outcomes on my professional to do list, which I do have one! Yes, I can imagine traveling the world again in the name of music, I can imagine teaching my children to love being fully expressed in their creative talents, I can imagine multitudes of people coming together in common visions of love, hope and humanitarian principles in a grand, inspirational multi-modal collaborative event, I can imagine recording a song that melts into perfection, I can imagine living life sweetly and simply, acknowledging that it all begins with my inner state of being vibrant with life.

I am inspired by so much in the world, always have been. There isn’t a service online that could keep up with how many photos I have taken out of inspiration in my lifetime! I think it’s known to the unseen world that I am a vessel for creativity, ready for collaboration! As I have said, my general perspective is one of hope, and from there I create my offerings, be it in the world of teaching, music therapy, sound healing, performance, writing, or speaking. I’m holding space for possibilities, as I envision and experience this world of awe. When I”m open, the prompts and the nudges keep me company. Lyrics, poetry, stories, artistic visions, therapeutic music interventions, teaching ideas, it all comes from a deep place of connection and internal guidance, So it’s my daily work to stay present to possibility and to continue to hone my practical skills to be able to give my best to structure this healing energy to flow through me and beyond me. I was taught the importance of other people, and community from an early age. At this point in my life, this focus is one again coming strongly into my awareness. The world of the arts is a direct reflection of humanity, as well as a healing channel for humanity. It’s a circular dance of giving and receiving, and within a culture, it speaks volumes about humanity for the generations to come.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hollytaylor432.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sacredstar432?igsh=MW5oajMxNmZ2azh3Mg==
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/hollytaylor432
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/hollytaylor432
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/TKdrUh62MCI?si=4IGlzyCdTUZBGrDj
• Other: www.folkintheflow.com www.reverbnation.com/hollytaylor432 https://youtu.be/iiclv9vJ0o4?si=ywMHqNjYt9H8fT3l

Image Credits
Marla Keown, John Clayton