Folk Bands and Artists
Taylor Ashton
Born in the last year of the 1980s, Taylor Ashton grew up surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and the old growth rainforests of Canada’s west coast. His songs are inspired by the primeval crookedness of traditional old-time music, the humour and heartbreak of Randy Newman, the cosmic emotionality of mid-career Joni Mitchell, and the sage vulnerability of Bill Withers. Somehow, he finds a way to make this all work on the clawhammer banjo. His debut solo record, The Romantic, was released in February 2020 on Signature Sounds Recordings. Although it’s his first proper “solo” album, it follows 4 albums as frontman of his former band Fish & Bird as well as a stripped-down duo record with guitarist and songwriter Courtney Hartman. His latest release is 2021’s Romanticize, an EP of remixes and new songs, and a companion to The Romantic.
