Taylor Alexander

Alexander's early life was filled with—and deeply inspired by—music. His father, a classically trained opera singer and church music minister, encouraged his early interest in music by giving him a guitar at age 7. By age 14, Alexander formed his first band, largely influenced by punk music. Though he's still a punk fan to this day, everything changed when he heard Bob Dylan for the first time; then diving into the discographies of classic country songwriters like Hank Williams and Merle Haggard. At 17, he started alt-country band Young America and spent the next few years playing through the southeast.

After moving to Nashville in 2014 and discovering the caliber of songwriting in town, Alexander scrapped all of his songs, locked himself in his room and started over, reemerging with a new appreciation for the process and a new batch of songs. In 2016, he released his EP, Real Good at Saying Goodbye, which broke onto the Americana charts. He halted touring and promotion for a stint on Season 12 of NBC’s The Voice, but he looks back fondly on the experience.

Good Old Fashioned Pain is a 10-song album about “the pain that makes us who we are, learning not to sweat the things you can't control, and ultimately—growing up,” Alexander says.