Rayland Baxter Explained

Rayland Baxter
Birth Name:	Rayland Baxter
Birth Date:	September 26, 1983
Origin:	Nashville, Tennessee
Genre:	Alternative country, Americana
Occupation:	Musician
Years Active:	2010–present

Rayland Baxter (stylized as rayLand baxter) is an American alternative country musician from Nashville, Tennessee. He is currently signed to ATO Records. Baxter is the son of musician Bucky Baxter.^[1]

Early life

Baxter excelled as a lacrosse player in high school as a midfielder. He attended the Severn School in Maryland and later Suffield Academy in Connecticut.^[2] He played Division I Lacrosse at Loyola University in Maryland before a knee injury ended his playing career.^[3] He was expelled from Loyola his sophomore year for getting in a fight on campus.^[4] In Baltimore, Baxter worked as a bartender at Jerry's Belvedere before moving to Colorado to work as a snowboard instructor in Breckenridge. There he began playing open mics at Gold Pan Saloon, starting his music career before eventually moving back to his hometown of Nashville to pursue music full time.^[5]

Career

Baxter began performing in 2010, when he was featured on the song "Shanghai Cigarettes" by country musician Caitlin Rose.^[6] In 2012, Baxter released his debut full-length album, Feathers & Fishhooks (stylized as feathers & fishHooks), via ATO Records.^{[7] [8]} In 2013, Baxter released his first extended play, Ashkelon (stylized as ashkeLON) also via ATO Records. The title is named after the town Ashkelon in Israel.^[9] On August 14, 2015, Baxter released his second studio album, Imaginary Man.^[10] In 2018, Baxter released his third full-length album, Wide Awake.^[11] In 2019, Baxter released Good Mmornin, an album of seven covers of Mac Miller songs. The record was released the day before he played the Newport Folk Festival, where he performed several of the songs live for the first time.^[12] Baxter's fourth studio album, If I Were A Butterfly, was released on November 4, 2022.^[13]

Discography

Albums

Title	Release details
Feathers & Fishhooks	Released: August 28, 2012 Label: ATO Records Formats: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
Imaginary Man	Released: August 14, 2015 Label: ATO Records Formats: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
Wide Awake	Released: July 13, 2018 Label: ATO Records Formats: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
Good Mmornin	Released: July 26, 2019 Label: ATO Records Formats: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
If I Were a Butterfly	Released: November 4, 2022 Label: ATO Records Formats: LP, CD, digital download, streaming

EPs

Title	Release details
Ashkelon	Released: August 20, 2013 Label: ATO Records Formats: Vinyl, digital download, streaming
Soho	Released: February 5, 2016 Label: ATO Records Formats: Vinyl, CD, digital download, streaming

Notes and References

1. Web site: Schlansky. Evan. Rayland Baxter. September 23, 2013 . American Songwriter. February 26, 2015.
2. Web site: McMullen. Paul. Coaching changes affect recruiting. 2020-10-13. baltimoresun.com. en-US.
3. Web site: Ledger. Jay N. MillerFor The Patriot. MUSIC SCENE: A knee injury led Rayland Baxter to a career in music. 2020-10-13. The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA. en.
4. Web site: Dukoff. Spencer. The Eternal Sunshine Of Rayland Baxter. 2020-10-13. Forbes. en.
5. Web site: Dukoff. Spencer. The Eternal Sunshine Of Rayland Baxter. 2020-10-13. Forbes. en.
6. Web site: LeMay. Joseph. Video: Caitlin Rose, "Shanghai Cigarettes". September 14, 2010 . American Songwriter. February 26, 2015.
7. Web site: Bort. Ryan. Album Stream: Rayland Baxter – feathers & fishHooks. Paste Magazine.
8. Web site: Oloizia. Jeff. Rayland Baxter is Becoming. August 27, 2012 . Interview Magazine. February 26, 2015.
9. Web site: Wilkins. Joshua. Song Premiere: Rayland Baxter – "bad things". Paste Magazine. February 26, 2015.
10. Web site: Powers. Ann. Songs We Love: Rayland Baxter, 'Yellow Eyes'. NPR.org . NPR. 11 June 2015.
11. Web site: Finley . Adam . On 'Wide Awake', Rayland Baxter Makes a Masterful Play for the Pop-rock Middle . August 6, 2018 . . 5 October 2018.
12. Web site: 2019-07-29. Rayland Baxter Talks Mac Miller's Impact On Him. 2020-10-14. GRAMMY.com. en.
13. Web site: If I Were a Butterfly, by Rayland Baxter .