How Taylor Hunnicutt is making her mark on Alabama music

When Taylor Hunnicutt took a waitressing job at a blues juke joint near the University of Montevallo, she wasn’t exactly planning her future in music. She was a college student carrying plates who happened to make friends with the musicians coming through to play.

Then one night, they invited her to sit in.

“It was an instant love,” Hunnicutt said.

A juke joint beginning

That invitation did more than get Hunnicutt on stage. Being welcomed into the circle of musicians gave her the push to start making music of her own.

“Being accepted by those musicians is what inspired me to recklessly abandon everything else and start writing songs,” she said.

And she did. Hunnicutt formed her own bands, started performing, and eventually turned that unexpected beginning at the juke joint into a career. She has now been a full-time musician for more than 10 years.

Today, Hunnicutt spends around 200 days a year on the road and has played everywhere from venues across the country to stages like the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and Red Rocks in Colorado. Though she is opera-trained, the music she makes is decidedly Southern – old-school Southern music for the modern world.

Alabama has a sound of its own

Growing up in the Black Belt and rural Alabama shaped Hunnicutt’s music, but it also gave her something to prove.

“I think Alabama, and especially Alabama musicians, all have this unspoken underlying purpose – and that is to show the rest of the world how special this state is,” Hunnicutt said.

When people think of Southern music, she knows which states tend to get the attention. “We aren’t Texas, we aren’t Tennessee,” she said. “But we have just as much talent and diversity as anywhere else.”

Hunnicutt describes Alabama’s music as Southern but “organically original” to the state – and making sure more people hear it has become part of the job.

“This has become my whole mission,” she said, “to prove that to everyone.”

It’s personal for Hunnicut. “I’ve never wanted anything more than for Alabama to be solidified as a landmark for incredible music,” she said.

A space for everyone

For all the stages Hunnicutt has played, ask her about her proudest professional accomplishment and she won’t point to the Ryman or Red Rocks. She’ll point to the merch table.

“At the end of the day, my biggest professional accomplishment is being able to look out into any crowd and knowing people,” she said. “Hearing their stories at the merch table and being able to connect with them and care for them is the greatest gift to me. That’s what I’m proud of.”

That relationship with fans isn’t an afterthought. Hunnicutt and her team have built the brand around creating a space where people feel welcome.

“Everyone is welcome, everyone is loved, and there’s something for everyone across the board,” she said.

And to Hunnicutt, those relationships mean more than checking another famous venue off the list. “Those people that work hard and buy tickets to our shows mean more to me than any bucket list venue on the planet,” she said.

“Exactly what I’ve been put here to do”

Spending 200 days a year on the road doesn’t leave much room for another life. For Hunnicutt, that’s okay. She can’t imagine herself doing anything else.

“What keeps me moving forward is the sheer inability to do anything else,” she said. “The belief that this is exactly what I’ve been put here to do.”

Making a career in music has meant missing things and giving up parts of her life while staying laser-focused on making it work. But the tradeoff is getting to watch what music can do for the people on the other side of the stage.

“Getting to see the joy music brings people is the driving force behind this whole operation,” she said. “And I’d gladly do it again.”

Making noise for Alabama

Hunnicutt’s career takes her all over the country, but Alabama is still home – and she wants to see its music community get more of the attention she believes it deserves.

She hopes the future brings more representation and celebration for Alabama artists, especially as generations of musicians continue building a sound she sees as distinctly their own. But for all Hunnicutt wants to do for Alabama music, she feels pretty lucky just to be part of it.

“The community of musicians here is so close-knit, and I think that’s very special,” Hunnicutt said. “I’m just lucky to be a part of it.”

SoulGrown is proud to name Taylor Hunnicutt the 2026 Soul of the South Awards winner for Music & Entertainment, recognizing her distinctive Alabama sound and her dedication to bringing greater recognition to the musicians who call the state home.