Catawba College is known for its diverse and talented population. One such talent is Taylor Mason, a freshman here at Catawba College and a good friend of mine. A self-described “country girl at heart,” she loves the outdoors and her jeep almost as much as she loves being the life of the party, singing, and playing her guitar. Also, as it turns out, this singer-songwriter plays by ear, an impressive feat, to say the least.

One of the primary rules of writing is that “good writers are good readers.” However, there are always exceptions to the rule; Taylor seems to be one such exception. Looking back at her childhood, she certainly wouldn’t describe herself as an avid reader. When it came to writing, however, she quickly fell in love. Not only is she skilled at writing poetry and lyrics, but she also enjoys writing prose narratives. Since most of her songs were written to tell her life stories, especially those about current romantic interests, former romantic interests, and her love for the outdoors, her experience with writing narratives made writing songs much easier for her.

Some of her musical inspirations include Miranda Lambert, Taylor Swift’s older country songs, and Loretta Lynn, who Taylor calls “the Queen of Country.” Her style is also heavily influenced by bluegrass music, which she says is her favorite style of music. The first song she wrote – “Walburg,” named after her hometown – is currently the most popular of the six she’s written so far.  She actually wrote it in her AP biology class and later performed it at her school talent show, which she won. Not only did this song now have 25,000 views on Facebook at the time when this article was written, but the Mayor of Walburg named it the town song. It makes sense; the song has a catchy tune that I already can’t stop singing. Who wouldn’t want a song like that associated with their town?

Catawba College has an excellent track record of producing excellent musicians; I have no doubt that Taylor Mason will be one of them. Please feel free to check out her music on Facebook, as I’m sure her catchy tunes will get caught in your head, too.

[This article is featured in the Fall 2016 Print Edition of the Catawba Pioneer.]