By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
There's always room for another Taylor in the music industry. Great Bend-native Taylor Fugitt grew up listening to her father, Ricky, perform live country music. Now she's recorded a song of her own. That first single, "Count on the Whiskey," is available through various streaming services, including Apple Music.
"It is so exciting," Taylor said. "It is probably, besides being a mom, easily one of the most rewarding things - something I've dreamed about since I was in sixth grade writing songs on the playground, to now having actually having something I get to hear on the radio. It's just really great to share something that is so special to me and have other people enjoy it as much as I do."
Ricky has been a staple of area live country music performances. Taylor grew up watching him perform and caught the bug herself in high school.
"When I was little, going to his things and watching him as I grew up, it was a really big deal," she said. "I've just always loved music. As I got older, especially hitting choir in high school, I realized how much I enjoyed the performance aspect of it. I went through a lot after graduation and throughout college, and music just became a really big outlet for me. I just started pouring everything into my songs. Now I'm going to make the best out of it by turning it into some pretty good music."
Taylor graduated from Great Bend High School in 2016, and from Wichita State in 2020, all the while fine-tuning her own catalog of music.
"I did stuff in high school, especially through choir with Mrs. (Susan) Stambaugh and the Madrigals," Taylor said. "When I went to college it was more small things here and there, acoustic-type deals and playing to my living room walls. I have a couple of friends who are in the music business. Here in this past year, now that my kid got a little bit older, I really just started working hard on finishing up some songs for an upcoming EP that will be released soon. I just got in the studio and made it happen."
Living in Wichita, Taylor headed south to Wellington to record her first single at Greenjeans Studios. Carter Green produced the album and added instrumentals to Taylor's acoustic guitar and vocals.
"He was a giant help," she said. "I wrote the music and melody. I went in there and sang the track and played the acoustic guitar, and he did the rest of the instrumentation for the album. He's insanely talented."
"Count on the Whiskey" has been featured on Wichita radio and has also been played on Nebraska's 93.1 The River's Edge.
Check out the full single below.