Indie Spotlight: Country Music Artist "Alayna"

Every once in a while a song comes along that makes you drop whatever you're doing and listen. Whether it's the melody, the voice, the subject matter or all three, something about it grabs your attention. That's the kind of thing that's been happening throughout Nashville at venues that country-pop artist/songwriter Alayna has been playing.

  

photo: from Alayna's website

Amidst the usual talking voices of people carrying on conversations comes Alayna's powerful vocals, relatable lyrics and infectious melodies, causing the whole room to go silent and take notice. Whether she's singing a song about moving on from a past relationship, showing a little attitude or singing a feel good song, Alayna captures the ears of everyone in range.

Alayna left the small town of Butler, Pennsylvania in the summer of 2011 with nothing but herself and a carload of a few necessities including her Breedlove guitar to pursue her lifelong dream. In a short amount of time she would be writing with hit songwriters such as Benita Hill and Kirsti Manna, playing well-known venues like The Listening Room and Hard Rock Cafe Nashville, traveling to play for crowds as large as 6,000 and would have an endorsement from her favorite guitar company, Breedlove. She also successfully fan-funded a six song EP titled "Top of a Dream" through Kickstarter.

  

Classically trained in piano from age 7, Alayna always had a love for music, but it wasn't always country. “I listened to a lot of different artists growing up: Jewel, Brandy, LeAnn Rimes, Sheryl Crow. I was really all over the map”, she says. Now she's mixing those childhood influences of pop melodies with the honesty of country lyrics, bringing a new flavor to the table.

Though she didn't realize it right away, Alayna wrote her first song at age 12. It wouldn’t be until a few years afterward that she would finally understand the new talent she could craft. In between this time, she taught herself to play guitar and kept up with regular piano lessons.   

She was voted as the recipient of the "Most Promising Female Songwriter 2013" Award by TSAI (Tennessee Songwriters Association International), has signed a single-song publishing deal and is garnering major interest from some very significant figures in the music industry. It won't be long before Alayna is a household name along side other ground-breaking females in country music history who are recognized by their first names; Dolly, Loretta, Reba, Faith, Shania, Carrie, Miranda and Alayna. No doubt she fits right in.

source: Alayna website:  http://www.alaynasmusic.com/Bio.html