A beautifully arranged evening atop a small hill just 15 minutes outside of Murfreesboro recently attracted a quaint congregation of around 30 folks. There, they witnessed a gently surrealistic concert composed of 24 picked strings, good timing, and the delicate planning of publicist and local folk-country singer/songwriter Robyn Taylor, as she provided the grit, the grace and the homey space for a few Murfreesboro songwriters at a converted public church-turned-private-sanctuary. This incarnation of Wednesdays in Woodbury: Writers in the Round Robyn, featured Taylor, Billy Plant, John Salaway and Levi Massie. The acoustic-oriented atmosphere for the easygoing, folkie-at-heart musicians and their audience alike was well placed, too, right in the middle of Robyn Taylor’s own Bird Song Studio.
As the owner, director, promoter and proprietor of Bird Song Studio since May of 2014, Robyn Taylor is a fine example of the dream-come-true, experience-driven American songstress. She has realized several major interests that, through hard work, culminated into Bird Song. That includes a love for the surrounding area, a drive for leading worship (be it church-rooted, as she’s done elsewhere in her past, or in her present multi-faceted musical career), a master’s degree in community planning, and the singing and songwriting that began in her childhood, leading to her Floridian country/bluegrass quartet, Monroe Station, and on to a budding solo career.
Simply put, she’s hosting pleasant times in her well-built and relaxed, personally tailored surroundings.
Murfreesboro Pulse: How did the idea of Bird Song Studio come to reality?
Robyn Taylor: I was living in Nashville at the time and just looking for something different. You know, a place to live that was different; some place I could focus on my songwriting, and that church was available on Craigslist for rent. It was farther out of Nashville, though, than I wanted to be, but I [figured I] should at least go and check it out. And I did, and just fell in love with it. It was so much more space than I was living out of in Nashville in a little studio apartment. I just kind of fell in love with Woodbury. Actually, the person who owns the church is Neil Applebaum, who runs the arts center in Cannon County. I thought he was really cool, too, and he kind of introduced me to the whole artist community out there.
That’s how you met John Salaway? He’s pretty prominent in that neck of the woods.
Yeah, that’s exactly how I met John. John came and played a show last fall. He opened for Gordon Kennedy, a Grammy-award-winning songwriter, and we had a full house for that. John and I have been friends since then.
What led you to invite Billy Plant and Levi Massie? They’re characters.
(Laughs) I used to go to all the writers nights in Murfreesboro and I used to sing at the blues jam at The Boro. I met them through other songwriters [such as] The Accidental Trio folks, and all of them in the Murfreesboro scene.
Are you from Michigan or Florida? Your websites say you’re from all over the place.
I’m from Michigan originally. I lived in Florida for eight years before I moved to Nashville. I went to college in Ohio. I went to grad school in Eugene, Oregon, at the University of Oregon.
On which one of your many stops did Monroe Station come about?
That was in Florida . . . we just played around the Naples, Florida, area.
photo by J. Bamber
In your solo music, you sing about your life in a fairly straightforward poetry that emotes a homey and very genuine feel in your performances. When you moved to Nashville from Florida, did you bring that from Monroe Station, or was it the Music City that got you?
I wish I could’ve brought them with me . . . I’ve just always wanted to be in Nashville for music and wanted to work on my songwriting. Get out and perform a little bit more—meet some more people. I really wanted to be immersed in music.
With the Roots Music Series, as well as the Bluegrass in the Hills series running through October, you’ve scheduled some pretty high-end names. Has being a publicist helped you with landing those acts for Bird Song?
Yeah, [being a publicist] gets you halfway there. Everybody that’s playing my place are all friends of mine, so that really helps. But, the publicity side of it is crucial, because I design the websites and do the press releases and the posters. All the social media. I do everything. I’ve been doing the publicity thing for five years. Since I moved to Nashville and started my own publicity company, I’ve been doing all that.
Lowell “Banana” Levinger with Robyn Taylor at Bird Song Studio
That’s how you landed Mary Gauthier coming up in September?
Technically, I’m her assistant, so I do lots of things for her, so that was my in for having her play at my place. She’s been great. She’s awesome.
What other appearances are you making around Murfreesboro?
I’m playing every Sunday at The Block—a brunch with bluegrass and country. We have people sit in. Joey Fletcher sat in for a couple of blues tunes and we’ve got other friends, like Robert Eskew and Delyn Christian. All kinds of people come and sit in with us.
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Bird Song Studio is located at 213 W. High St. in Woodbury, Tenn. Upcoming performances include Jeff Black on Aug. 20, Mary Gauthier on Sept. 17, EmiSunshine Oct. 14, and Missy Raines & The New Hip on Oct. 15. The venue also hosts yoga on Mondays from 6:30–8 p.m. Bird Song also hosts weddings and even accommodates overnight guests through AirBNB.
For more information, visit thebirdsongstudio.com.
