Who Is Bayker Blankenship? The Story Behind His Journey to Country Music
Who is Bayker Blankenship? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about his journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…
Bayker Blakenship
Quick Facts:
Birthdate – 6/8/2005
Hometown – Livingston, Tennessee
Current city – Livingston, Tennessee
Musical influences – Mac Miller, Tyler Childers, Bob Dylan
Label – Santa Anna Records
This week we shine our spotlight on an artist that has been turning heads lately for good reason! Bayker Blankenship is a twenty year old with big potential in country music. While he’s been going viral on social media for a bit now, we fell in love with his sound when he collaborated with Zach John King on “Life Behind Bars” earlier this year. Keep reading to learn more about Blakenship’s unique journey!
“I grew up in Livingston, Tennessee, my whole entire childhood, and I lived in a double wide trailer up on the hill,” began the singer. “It wasn’t much, just enough for us to be happy and my dad did everything he could so we could be happy.” As Blankenship shared about his humble beginnings, he mentioned a lot of love and family time growing up.
While he was always a fan of music, his love for music took a while to blossom into what it is now. “I didn’t really start learning the guitar until, I was I was 15 or 16 years old,” shared Blakenship. “I was always listening to the radio. I went to church a lot and always sang along there, but I never really understood how much music could mean to somebody until I started started working at this restaurant and my boss, at the time, showed me some Tyler Childers on Spotify. [I thought] this music stuff is deeper than just a bunch of tunes and a bunch of words to put together. It’s a bunch of stories that people get to tell and other people can relate.”
As he dug into music, Blankenship became a huge fan of artists like Childers, Luke Combs, and Bob Dylan. Currently, he appreciates the artistry of rising artists like Evan Honor and Wyatt Flores too.”
The Turning Point:
As Blankenship got more and more into music, he found himself exploring the depths of the music industry, first during the pandemic then for real a couple of years later.
“When 2020 hit and we got trapped in the house. I picked up guitar for about a week and then threw it back in my closet,’ he shared, adding, “After that, I was like, “I don’t know if I’m gonna learn that.” And then back in 2022, I picked it up again, and I really started learning it and then end of the year, I was posting TikTok videos, and then from there, I just I kind of kept posting TikTok videos and played a little bar shows around town. From doing that, people started coming in and I would sit there and just talk to everybody and get to know them, and then they would go out and tell everybody. The next thing you know, I had like 30 people at this bar show.”
Blankenship’s viral videos on TikTok catapulted his music career, even before he knew what it was. “So after that, we kind of took the next move, and signed a record deal,” shared the singer. “It’s a whole new world with TikTok and Instagram and all that kind of jazz.”
Since finding success on social media, Blankenship has hit the road hard, playing shows in every city he can, while also, working on his voice, something that he admits was not a natural talent for him at first. He credits feedback he got from his fans for how he has improved over the years.
Today:
Flash forward to today, Blankenship continues to share music with his fans. While we loved his collaboration with Zach John King, the singer-songwriter also recently released an incredible song called, “Everything She Does,” which was inspired by his relationship with is beautiful girlfriend.
“We went in the studio with me and a couple other guys. […] I wanedt to write a really kicking love song about my girlfriend,” he began. “I just kept talking and talking about how great she is. And then from there, it was kind of, we just, I don’t know, it just it went so well together, though. It really wasn’t hard to write.”
The song speaks to the love Blankenship has for his girlfriend, but also articulates love in a fresh and a new way that feels enjoyable to listen to and relatable at the same time. “I always think of my fans and like, this is the only reason that I’m actually here because they listen to my music, so when I write songs, I really want to.. I don’t know, connect with everybody on a different level.”
“Everything She Does” is the start of something great for the singer. He is already working on a ton of more music, even sharing with us that he just got a new song back the other day too, as well as, news that a project is also on his mind. “I think we’re gonna start working on it in a bigger project, and it’s gonna be fun, because this is what I’ve worked so hard to get to is is this time to just be in the studio and work on a masterpiece for the people.”
Until then, make sure you listen to Blakenship’s current catalog and go catch a show near you!
Connect:
Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about future Bayker Blankenship releases.
To keep up with Bayker Blankenship follow him on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
Bayker Blankenship’s music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.
