For country music artist Trey Taylor, Fort Smith 'kind of feels like home'

When Trey Taylor was growing up back in Denver, people made fun of him as the little Black kid who loved country music.

But Taylor proved them wrong, signing with the same recording label as Dolly Parton when he was just 16.

“They used to say things to me like 'Dolly Parton doesn’t even know you exist.' Well, she sure does now," Taylor said.

Taylor, now 23, visited Fort Smith last May when he performed for the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund.

“I just fell in love with Fort Smith, Arkansas," Taylor said. He later added, “It kind of feels like home for me."

Abbie Cox, a development manager for the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund, was moved by Taylor's performance as the son of a single mother, Cox said.

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It was at that performance that Mayor George McGill presented Taylor with a key to the city.

Taylor plans to return to Fort Smith to perform for the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund on Sept. 24. On top of that, between September and November, Taylor will be recording his new music at Sol Studios in Fort Smith.

“He could have done it in Nashville. He couldn’ve done it in LA, and he’s going to do it here," Cox said about Taylor recording in Fort Smith.

While he is recording, Taylor wants to recruit Fort Smith artists to play with him. Much of Taylor's music reflects his love for old-time country music.

“My music is a product of basically I always joke if Glen Campbell, Ronnie Milsap and Ray Charles all had a baby, it’d be me," Taylor said.

Melissa Rowe, who has written songs with Taylor, described his music similarly.

“Trey has a fascination with old school artists and legendary figures in the country music world, but he’s also very young and contemporary," Rowe said. "It’s kind of a combination of contemporary classic country music."

Taylor said he experiments with different sounds. He is not afraid to up the bass or to pick a banjo for a song.

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He looks for songs with feeling and performs from the heart.

“I’m a song hunter. I listen to songs from every genre," Taylor said.

Taylor has also collaborated with Debby Campbell, Glen Campbell's daughter.

“He’s a go-getter he’s definitely a go-getter, you know. I think he’ll succeed, you know. He’s got the drive definitely," Debby Campbell said.

Back in high school, Taylor had to figure out how to make an album without missing too much school. In those early days, Taylor did not perform very much. That all changed when he graduated from high school.

In 2018, Taylor did a nationwide show, performing about 300 times in that year.

“Trey is very contagious. He’s fire. He’ll motivate you just because he’s so positive," Jonnie Henderson, Taylor's long-time friend. He later added,  “I think the whole world needs some of that today."

Alex Gladden is a University of Arkansas graduate. She previously reported for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and The Jonesboro Sun before joining the Times Record. She can be contacted at agladden@swtimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Country artist Trey Taylor to perform at upcoming Fort Smith fundraiser