Local artist Tayla Rees takes on music

When Tayla Rees stepped into the role of Rumi from the popular Netflix film “K-Pop Demon Hunters” for a child's birthday party, she expected to perform a few songs. She never imagined she’d leave in tears.

After singing for a room full of children who knew every lyric, Rees watched as young fans crowded around her, reluctant to let her go. Their excitement and emotion lingered long after the performance ended.

"I cried when I got in the car," she said. "I was just so moved by that."

For Rees, moments like these are reminders of why she became a musician in the first place. The 25-year-old already has three albums and an EP under her belt. 

"I've been singing since I popped out of the womb," she said. “It was something I was always interested in.”

As she grew older, her passion for music also grew. 

“The more I did it, the more I didn't want to stop, and that's really what fueled the fire of today,” she said. 

Her most recent album, “Cain & Abel,” dropped earlier this year, in March.

But even with a new album released, Rees says she's already writing her next EP. For her, creativity rarely stops: she said she has never had writer’s block.

“I never really run out of things to say,” she said.

If inspiration does seem distant, Rees heads outdoors. Whether it’s walking through a meadow or simply spending time in nature, she finds being outside clears her mind and allows new ideas to emerge.

“Like anywhere where I can just frolic in a front in my front yard, maybe or, you know, in a random meadow,” she said. “I've done that; I've pulled over on the side of the road.”

Rees said her sound has been shaped by a diverse range of musical inspirations, including Taylor Swift, Sting, and Norah Jones. Looking to the future, she hopes to collaborate with Folk-Pop artists such as Sarah McLachlan and Aurora. 

“Their writing style and their take on music has always been something that I've been able to just see into,” she said, adding that their music made her feel understood and helped her discover her own identity.

Rees’ passion and talents have led to other career milestones, such as opening for the Backstreet Boys in 2022 and sharing the stage with Foreigner when she was a teen.

"I just think that seeing 32,000 people in the audience, it's either…you want to run off stage, or you're like, ‘oh my gosh, I love this; I want to do this for the rest of my life,’” she said, reflecting on the scale of those performances.

In addition to her own singing and songwriting career,Rees has worked as a vocal coach for the past five years. 

“One of the biggest things that made me become a vocal coach was because as a singer… you have to take care of your voice,” she said. “I learned so much about how to do that.”

Yet, like many performers, Rees’ path has not been without obstacles. One of the most difficult moments came after the death of her grandfather, whom she describes as a father figure. Despite her grief, she honored performance commitments she had already made.

“At some point, you need to just understand that when something really heavy happens, that you almost have to channel that into what you're doing,” she said. “ I think that that's exactly what I did, because it's the only thing that I could do at the moment.”

Rather than separating her emotions from her work, she learned to channel them into her performances.

"I think it taught me that I can get through anything," she said.

Rees has also learned what kind of fame she wants.

“I don't think enough people talk about that,” she said. “I was never the type that really wanted to just be famous. I was never that type to just have it for… the materialistic side of it. I feel like I was always in it [to reach] the masses and [make] connections.”

As such, she has begun partnering with charitable organizations, including Unshattered, a Wappingers-based nonprofit that helps women recovering from addiction build new careers through meaningful employment.

“I want to help people,” she said. “I want to inspire people and hopefully make them feel that whatever they've been through in their life, that they can have a good life for themselves.”

Additional information about Rees and upcoming performances is available on her website, TaylaRees.com.