Taylor Vaden's Tribute to Elvis

Taylor Vaden is a singer-songwriter and entertainer from King, North Carolina who started his musical career as an Elvis Tribute Artist at the tender age of seven. At 10 years old, he performed in front of a sold out audience at Reynolds Auditorium in Winston-Salem, NC opening for Tribute Artist, Lou Vuto and personal friend of Elvis, the late Charlie Hodge. He began playing guitar at age 12 and was part of the church band at Kernersville Full Gospel Mission, which was co-founded by his great-grandparents in 1961. After developing his own voice, Vaden began writing songs in 2006 and a couple of years later, formed The Taylor Vaden Band. This band played the local music scene consistently for over five years and opened up for national acts such as Billie Joe Royal, “Uncle Kracker” and Jason Michael Carroll. Taylor graduated from UNC-Greensboro in May of 2011 and two weeks later went on a mission trip to Northern Ireland and England with the ministry, Outreach for America. This was Vaden's first time out of the United States and it became a life-changing moment for him as he ministered through music in assisted living facilities, churches, prisons and schools. Before returning home, he was asked by the founder of Outreach for America, David Hinton, to play the lead role in an upcoming independent film, How the West Was Won; a Christian-based Western featuring true life stories of a trail blazer preacher. This movie has now been shown in mulitiple countries and continues to fulfill its vision of sharing the message of Jesus to bring people to salvation. In the late summer of 2012, Vaden found himself playing guitar and providing background vocals for Top 24 American Idol finalist, Chelsea Sorrell. Together, the two played many shows throughout North Carolina for over a year. Some of which were opening performances for Charlie Daniels, Montgomery Gentry, Florida Georgia Line, Colt Ford and more. In November of 2012, Taylor released his first EP of original music that would lead to a full album release a year later in November 2013 entitled, From the Start. From the Start, is a Contemporary Christian album that showcases Vaden's songwriting and unique style of musicianship on acoustic guitar. The 10-song album is a mix of full band and acoustic blend songs, such as the track "Standing," that was written about a school board meeting in Stokes County, NC where students and parents defended prayer before graduations and board meetings. This album also feeds off of Taylor's passion for praise & worship music with down-to-earth tunes like "All Things Are Possible," "For You" and "I Don't Care." The title track, "From the Start," stems from a moment when Vaden found himself beaten down spiritually, but through a 15-minute songwriting session on the edge of his bed, God reminded him of all he's ever needed to get through the low points of life. "It's Not Me" was co-written with Taylor's long-time friend, Chuck Marsh and is another acoustic driven track that tells the story of a man that has hit rock bottom finding salvation. "I never really want to box myself into one genre as an artist," Vaden says. "I just want to write positive music that is real to me and encourages people that hear it, no matter what genre it may fall in. With From the Start being my first self-released album, I felt it was a good way to show people where my heart is musically and give God the credit upfront." Vaden spent the remainder of 2013 and all of 2014 promoting the album. Over this period of time, he opened for artists such as NewSong, Danny Gokey, Sanctus Real, Josh WIlson and Coffey Anderson. From the Start can be found in its entirety on iTunes and other online music outlets. The album was dedicated to the memory of his grandfather, James Everette Ayers and his grandmother, Betty Jean Dodson. 2016 marked the 10th anniversary of music and entertainment for Taylor and it was quite a rewarding year for him. For starters, the new authentic 50's Elvis tribute band he had put together in 2015, Memphis Thunder, played several shows over the year and built a strong fan base. As a Tribute Artist, he won first place in the non-pro division Elvis Tribute Artist Contest at the Myrtle Beach Elvis Festival held at Legends in Concert. This was only his second time competing after a second place finish there in 2015. The first place finish landed him a spot in the invitation only contest at the Ocean City Elvis Festival produced by Sherry Management. This contest features 20 of the world's top ETA's competing for a chance to represent Ocean City, MD in the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest held annually in Memphis, TN. This was Vaden's first time competing in the same division with some of the best ETA's around and he brought home a 5th place finish. "It was an awesome experience to compete and get to know some of the guys I have been following for several years now," says Vaden. "These festivals and contests are fun, but what I enjoy most about them is meeting new people and getting to hang out with other Elvis fans." Outside of his accomplishments as a Tribute Artist, Vaden married his sweetheart, LeAnn, in April of 2016. The occasion led him to writing "This," which would later be released as a single on iTunes and more. The song written specifically for the couple's special day, evolved into his first ever music video. The video features actual footage from the wedding and shots at the Dixie Classic Fair in Winston-Salem, NC where the couple met face-to-face for the first time in October of 2014. Produced by Humming Meadow Productions, the official music video for "This" captures a love story like no other and received immediate attention from Vaden's fans on social media. No matter what the future holds for Taylor musically, the past 10 years have been successful and he continues to give God the credit for all that he has been able to accomplish. "I'm a firm believer in working hard for what you want. That's for any area of life," he says. "What you focus on is what you feed and I like to focus on positive things. This will build your strength up to make it through the negative times in life." When Taylor is not leading worship for other churches on Sunday mornings, you can find him leading with the team at his home church, Living Word Ministries in King, NC. For more on Taylor's 2017 show dates, visit www.taylorvaden.com 10 Years of Entertainment 2016 Non-Pro Division Winner of Myrtle Beach Elvis Festival 2017 Non-Pro Division Winner of Georgia Elvis Festival