Aidan Taylor living the dream after Nashville

BY Aprile McKinnon

Now that Canyon Lake’s Aidan Taylor is beginning to make a name for herself in the music world, she can always happily reflect back on her first time on stage.

“My first real performance was technically at my fifth-grade talent show,” Aidan said. “I forgot the words and ran off stage. Not a great start. But since then, I’ve been working on my stage presence.”

Nineteen-year-old Aidan has been hopping up on as many stages as she can now that her career is starting to take off. She just returned from a couple of weeks in Nashville where she played on some of the city’s iconic stages and landed a producer there.

Her trip to Nashville with her family was designed to help her make great connections to build her dreams of making it in the music industry. She has original songs that she wants to produce and found a Nashville producer who will help her write and release new songs.

“I was very lucky to be able to do everything I wanted to do while on my first trip to Nashville,” Aidan said. “I sang at the Bluebird Cafe, Fox and Locke, and more. I was so fortunate to meet and become friends with so many songwriters and singers from different areas of the country. I also am starting production on my original music with the producer I met while in Nashville. Overall it was such an amazing trip and I can’t wait to go back in the near future.”

Although she is spending time and effort on her music, she is also determined to get her education. She is about to enter her second year at San Diego State where she is studying marketing. She graduated from Santa Rosa Academy last year.

She has loved music for as long as she can remember. She started taking guitar lessons with Keith Kessenger in Canyon Lake when she was about eight years old. She’s been singing and songwriting for a while now and she just recently kicked the public performing into high gear.

“I’ve always loved singing as a kid,” Aidan said. “It wasn’t until after I learned to play the guitar when I was 8 years old that I started taking singing more seriously. I can also play the piano.”

Aidan auditioned and was selected for the Murrieta Music Fest Aug. 26. The music festival takes place from noon to 10:00 p.m. and benefits the Murrieta Music Council. It will be held at The Alleyway and Historic Steiner House in downtown Murrieta.

Aidan hopes to draw a large crowd at the Murrieta event and would love the support of her Canyon Lake family and friends, she said. Aidan is set to perform close to 5:00 p.m. on the Alleyway Stage.

“I sang at the Temecula Mall, did open mics, and performed at private events like weddings and graduation parties throughout high school,” she said. “Although performing live used to make me nervous, I’ve been performing more frequently within the last three-to-four months and have fallen in love with it.”

She has some private events lined up for August, but is still open to any other performance opportunities, paid or unpaid, that may come up.

“I performed at the Canyon Lake Christmas Tree lighting almost four years ago,” she said. “I used to do the open mic at Canyon Cowboy regularly before they stopped hosting it. Although performing live used to be nerve-wracking, that has changed, and I would love to do more performances in Canyon Lake in the future.”

Aidan’s artist influences are Taylor Swift and Paramore.

“To describe my sound, I’d say it’s a blend of those two artists with some smaller influences,” Aidan said. “My genre categories would be pop and pop rock. While I grew up with country music and enjoy folk music, my songs may reflect some of those elements. Other artists that influence me include Lorde, Lana Del Rey, Gracie Abrams, Holly Humberstone, and many more.”

Regarding Aidan’s songwriting, it’s her main passion.

“I aspire to get a publishing deal and write for other artists,” Aidan said. “I started writing in 2019 and have penned hundreds of songs, with about 20 that I would dare to perform live.”

Currently, she is working on her original songs with her producer so they can be pitched to publishing companies.

“My writing process varies, but usually, I sit down with an instrument, hum random melodies, and play different chords until something clicks and I create a song,” she said. “Some songs take as little as 30 minutes to write, while others require hours or days to perfect.”

In school, Aidan focused primarily on music. She was in a rock band in high school, and although she is not in the band anymore, she loves singing with a full band.

Aidan grew up in Canyon Lake with her parents Jeff and Michelle Taylor, her brother Jake, 18, and sister Presley, 15.

“My family’s favorite thing to do in Canyon Lake is to get on the boat and stay at the campground,” she said. “We also enjoy attending various events such as Fiesta Days and concerts at the lodge. Before we had a pool at home, we often visited the community pool.”

Apart from music, Aidan enjoys acrylic painting and planning school events, both of which she was heavily involved in during high school.

“Her dad and I are so proud of her and it’s been so fun to watch her evolve over the years to see where she is now,” Aidan’s mom Michelle said. “We’re really excited to see what’s next for her.”

So far, Aidan has not recorded or released any of her music. It’s in her plans, but her focus has been on songwriting.

“One day soon I plan on releasing my own music,” she said. “I have some of my originals on my YouTube and also on my SoundCloud where I post my acoustic demos for easy listening.”

To keep up on Aidan’s music journey or to contact her about having her at an event, she can be reached on her social media at @aidantaylormusic.