“If I never had to do it, I probably wouldn’t,” explains Taylor Wafford. As the face of the folky art rock project Blood Root, Wafford doesn’t find the typical joy in performing live as other musicians at her level. “The joy for me is in the writing and spending time crafting the song in the ‘studio,’ in air quotes, because I mostly do this stuff at my house.”

“The live performance sort of feels like I have a gun to my head, and I have to do this. The real joy is in making the music,” she continued. Wafford’s current job consists of working with different bands and performers in addition to opening for musical talents such as Heart Attack Man, Odie Leigh, and Troubled Minds. But, at her core, she hopes to become a successful solo artist, performing and writing her own music. 

“As a solo performer, I get crippling stage fright, which is funny because I have been performing on a stage since I was probably six or seven,” she said. Wafford has loved music for as far back as she can remember. “I have always been singing, always had an interest in learning instruments. I have been playing multiple instruments for most of my life,” she said. “[I am a] vocalist first, my voice is definitely my strongest instrument, then [I play] guitar and piano, a little bit of bass here and there, and then I also play clarinet and do sort of sound design synthesizer-esque playing.”

Wafford channels these instruments into her own music under Blood Root.  With a musical catalog consisting of her 2022 album I’m Not Trying to Start a Fire Anymore and multiple singles, some that will contribute to her October 24 album Turn, Wafford is proving herself as a solo artist and a powerful asset in up-and-coming contemporary music. 

With inspirations stemming from Sylvan Esso, Wilco, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath, Wafford does not exclude any type of music from her listening experience. “I would consider myself a sampler of all music. There really is not a lot out there I won’t give a try,” she said. “I live in Nashville, so I have the unique position to be inspired by my peers. There are a lot of people in town who I draw inspiration from, like Brennan Wedl, and, not local to here, but this band Brother Moses.”  

Her most recent single, “Athame,” was released on August 29, but Wafford admits that the releases so far do not represent the entirety of Turn. “[In the album], there is more of the singer-songwriter acoustic guitar kind of thing, as well as the heavy cranked amp and heavy distortion effects. [I released these tracks first because] there are no rules, I guess, and these are definitely some of my favorites from the album. The idea is cohesive, but there is a lot more than what is going on in those tracks than what you will hear when the whole album comes out.” 

Wafford prides herself on her songwriting, and she admits that the process is nothing ritual. “I wish I could say there was a process or a cycle to [my songwriting]. I’ve never had the intention of ‘writing for radio.’ It’s just totally based on my life experiences, and it can never be pushed. It’s always just when the song is ready to come out, the song will make itself known. [I’m] just living life and developing these ideas and truths,” she explained. 

With the release of Turn, Wafford is planning to have a live show in Nashville the same day as the release, despite her dislike for the action. But this time around, Wafford will be performing with her newly shaped band. “It’s been sort of a rotating cast over the last seven years or so since we put out the first Blood Root single. But now, I feel as though we are more sturdy than ever, and I love my team so much. We are actually two couples, which doesn’t normally work, but we are lucky, and it works out. Everyone is so chill, and they really care, and they are close friends too…When other people come in, and they are really serious about it and want to give a piece of themselves to the music, that’s when it gets really special.”

Besides her band, the prospect of human connection is what motivates Wafford to continue live performances. “Doing live shows, I think, is one of the last ways we are able to connect with people in a way that matters and will stand the test of time,” she concluded. “Making yourself known on social media as anyone who is trying to market anything is becoming harder and harder, so being able to be there in person and talk to people and going beyond that studio recording makes a really big difference.”

Blood Root’s music is available on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, and anywhere you stream music.

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Photo courtesy of Atwood Magazine | Interviewed on July 22, 2025