Taylor Nauta
- Caitlen Odell
- Jan 20
- 5 min read
Taylor Nauta's music carries the weight of Louisiana in every note, a blend of country, blues, and southern rock shaped by vinyl records, a guitar-playing grandpa, and years spent honing his craft across hundreds of stages. We talked with him about his musical roots, what drives his soulful live performances, and the stories he's telling now.
Caitlen: What drew you to music initially, and what keeps you motivated to keep creating?
Taylor: I was surrounded by music as a kid. I spent a ton of time with my grandparents, and my grandpa was a guitar player. He taught me how to play the guitar, and gave me my first guitar when I was seven or eight years old. He had a decent record collection, too, as well as some big wooden speakers that sounded phenomenal. All throughout my teenage years I sat and listened to old vinyl records of Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Jerry Reed, Waylon Jennings, etc, and was just mesmerized by the sounds and the songwriting. Sometimes I’d play along, and sometimes I’d just sit there and listen to entire records without doing anything else. What kid does that nowadays? These days kids listen to music on their phones, and usually while they’re doing something else. Music has become background noise for today’s kids, but for me it wasn’t. It was the means by which I tuned out everything else around me into the background. Hell, it still is. I’m glad I was a 90’s kid with a cool grandpa, that’s all I can say. Having great music around me is what drew me to music. And as for what motivates me to keep creating, well, I’d say that it’s the cyclical nature of writing songs, recording them, playing them live, and then seeing how people respond to them. It’s an exciting process that never gets old to me. And, of course, it’s an outlet. It’s a way to channel deep feelings and emotions, positive and negative alike, giving them somewhere to go. That in and of itself is reason enough to keep creating.
Caitlen: Your music blends country, blues, and southern rock into a unique Louisiana sound. What excites you about these genres?
Taylor: Well, for starters, I grew up on country music & southern rock. My grandpa listened to country and my dad was a southern rock fan, so I was thoroughly immersed in that stuff from a young age. Those genres are like my first language. I’m fluent in them.. But I got introduced to the blues twenty years ago when I was just eighteen years old and working at the Gibson guitar factory in Nashville. I had this co-worker named Brian James who was really into the blues, and we’d talk about music while we worked. He let me borrow a bunch of CDs by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Joe Bonamassa, Muddy Waters, BB King, etc. There was just something about the soulful simplicity and improvisational spontaneity of that music that grabbed me and never let go. What I love most about a good Country song is strong lyrics and a musical melody I can hum. What I love about Southern Rock is the overall vibe of that music, because so much of it is anthemic! Take “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Freebird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, for example. They’re both Southern Rock anthems, and you just can’t help feeling good when you listen to something like that. That sort of feeling is what I was trying to create when I wrote “Shrimp Boots.” But what excites me most about the Blues is how raw it is, and how every blues jam is like a snowflake: totally unique, never to be identically duplicated ever again. You’ve just got to savor the moment with the blues, because so much of it tends to be impromptu.
Caitlen: Your performances are described as swampy, bluesy, and soul-infused. How do you approach creating that energy live on stage?
Taylor: I try to pour myself into every song, regardless of the genre. I try to bring the energy that the song calls for. There’s a difference between getting words and notes right versus getting the feeling right. It might sound crazy, but I try to fully put myself into the emotional headspace or whatever song I’m performing. If it’s a love song about my wife, I think about her and channel my love for her into the performance. If it’s a sad song about being heartbroken by some trauma that happened in the past, I force myself to relive it and feel those feelings again. I go back there in my mind and sing from that place. It’s a bit exhausting, admittedly, leaving me feeling spent by the time a show is over, but that’s how I try to stay fully present in every song. I just don’t know any other way to do it. How can I expect a crowd to feel moved if I don’t feel moved myself? If I’m feeling it, chances are they’ll feel it as well. But if I’m not feeling it, they probably won’t feel it, either.
Caitlen: What’s one of your most memorable live show experiences in Louisiana?
Taylor: Honestly, it was probably my first time playing at the Red Dragon Listening Room in Baton Rouge. I opened for Chris Knight that night, who happens to be a songwriter I admire, and the crowd was just as great as a crowd can be. They listened to every word of every song intently, they interacted with me, and they bought my merch. It just doesn’t get any better than that! It may sound weird, but I actually like playing for attentive little crowds in intimate listening rooms like the Red Dragon better than big crowds in bustling clubs or concert venues. I’ve played at hundreds of venues all across the United States, but there’s never been a venue that I loved more than the Red Dragon. I’m a bit heartbroken that it’s gone. There’s no venue equivalent to it anywhere in Louisiana now, sadly.
Caitlen: What themes or stories are you exploring in your upcoming work?
Taylor: My music has followed the arc of my own life story thus far, as well as the stories of people I’ve known. I sing about what I’ve experienced or watched others experience. There have been times when my music was mostly lighthearted or even comical, then there were times when it got a bit dark and heavy, and then things changed and I wrote a bunch of love songs. But now I’m almost 38 years old, a middle aged man with teenage kids, and I’ve been thinking a lot about what matters most in life. The themes and stories of my most recent songs reflect the kind of soul searching I’ve been doing at this stage of my life. Sometimes the themes are somewhat spiritual and philosophical, and sometimes they’ve got political implications. Sometimes the stories are allegories, with some being introspective or autobiographical while others are social commentaries. But not all of it is heady and serious. A lot of it is pure levity. For example, I’ve been working on a comedy album. It’ll be coming out relatively soon under the name of Flannel Dan. I guess you could say he’s my silly, shameless, uninhibited alter ego.
Taylor Nauta's journey reflects a musician who pours himself into his work. His commitment to feeling every song and connecting authentically with his audience is what sets him apart in Louisiana's rich musical landscape.
Follow him on Instagram at instagram.com/taylor.nauta to stay updated on his latest shows and music.
Written by Caitlen Odell
Founder & Owner, Red Stick Music
Caitlen curates the Red Stick Music live music calendar with a focus on excellence, integrity, and community building. She’s passionate about supporting local artists and strengthening Baton Rouge through music.
