Noelle Toland won't be in Limbo for long

Noelle Toland took the leap to move to Nashville about two years ago after graduating from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and starting a career, which was already far from her small hometown in Oregon. She has enjoyed performing since childhood and continued her love of the stage through her college years. Her biggest passion is songwriting and singing on stage. Noelle is an accomplished actress and has had placements in several films, movies, and TV shows, including Criminal Minds. Her training and experience in acting as given her the confidence to perform on stage. Noelle explained how it has not only helped her vocally but also emotionally to connect to the songs she is performing on stage. Moving to Nashville put her in a city full of musical talent and songwriters whom she is eager to learn from and work with. It has kept her humble and flexible while keeping her vision clear on her own career goals. Dolly Parton is an inspiration to Noelle, especially because of the grace and kindness Dolly has maintained throughout her career.

Noelle Toland

Noelle Toland's last song release was I Want To See You Again, which featured Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Grammy Award Winning guitarist Steve Cropper. Noelle explained how she came up with the title Limbo, the third song released on this EP. The song idea was born lyrically first with the story of a relationship going in an unclear direction. Limbo became the perfect title describing the unknown, waiting on someone else but having all the power to walk away. Limbo is the final original song on the EP and is followed by a Patsy Cline cover of A Poor Man's Roses, giving tribute to her love of traditional country music.

Noelle Toland plans on auditioning for acting jobs in between shows and bookings.

thank you Noelle for our conversation, it was nice to get to know you!

Until next time, that's a quick peek into Noelle Toland's story In a Country Minute.

Rose

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Country Music According to Tulsa

Bryce A. Dicus

Oklahoma native Bryce A. Dicus is a singer-songwriter who began playing guitar as a young teen and was playing gigs even through high school. He was also a wrestling athlete through college. He has been able to continue working in both of these fields. Bryce took advantage of the last few years of being off the road to expand his musical craft. That time gave him the opportunity to focus on writing more music and building a home studio. He wrote 40 songs in a 2 year period just shy of a song a month, putting that home studio to good use. He discovered that he is part of a large group of songwriters in Oklahoma which inspired Bryce to start a showcase emphasizing the writers in the area. The Hometown Writers Round takes place once a month at The Hunt Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The showcase is gaining publicity and has a waitlist for artists to join in. Bryce has played many shows at the Hunt Club for nearly a decade. The location is close to another popular music venue, Cain's Ballroom, for which Bryce has frequently played the afterparty show at The Hunt Club. For the time being, Bryce A. Dicus has been playing gigs once or twice a month, for good reason, he has been lending his talents to coaching youth wrestling, organizing the artist showcase, and getting ready to release a 12-song album coming in April. Bryce A. Dicus and The Mercenaries will expand their playing schedule after the wrestling season concludes and the full album has dropped.

Click the album cover for preorder information

Anywhere but Tulsa has a fun assortment for all country music tastes, from acoustic ballads to a little Country-Rock and a little bit of Red Dirt country. The influences of 90's country, Cody Johnson and Randy Montana show through his writing style and rhythmic instrumental sounds.

The first single release from Anywhere but Tulsa will be coming Feb 17th and the full album will be available April 28th.

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A Ten Year Town

What does life look like in Nashville through the eyes of a singer-songwriter that is just getting started in a town, nicknamed a 'ten-year town'? It looks like you need to meet some people to write with, those that can encircle you, push you and help you create what you see, help you tell your story, in your words, your way. It looks like building friendships, and playing music, a bit like work but with a little fun. That is what I heard when I recently spoke with Blaine Bunting. Blaine is a singer-songwriter in Nashville, chasing his dreams from outside of Savannah, Georgia to the Country Music Capital of the World, the ten-year town where you fight like crazy to be noticed, a city full of musical talent and singing dreams. I think every career takes ten years to build skills, self-taught or educated, but Music City has gained that title and brought comfort to its seekers with it. Songwriting is a mystery to me; where do you start, where does the story go, and who it is about?

Blaine made it sound easy because he's found his niche, and found a team of people to do just that. This team of writers and friends knows how to fill in the gaps and drive an idea to completion. Blaine said his favorite part is being on stage, making a difference to someone else through his stories in songs or sometimes in someone else's song that he performs instead. He plays music on Broadway at Legends Corner a couple of times a week, AJ's Good Time Bar, and Music City Bar and Grill, all with a full band. After his move to Nashville, Blaine Bunting and his long-time friend Justin Dukes were playing an acoustic show together and a man approached him offering him a frontman position liking his style and sound and thought he would be a good fit in their band. You can hear them at the above locations throughout the week.

I have learned that artists can find the most creative ways to record music, Blaine Bunting recorded the vocals to his first song sitting in a tent made of quilts in the middle of an apartment. The quilts were a great sound barrier to the outside noise and were useful in the absorption of extra sound for the recording to be successful. Blaine Bunting has a couple of songs currently on digital platforms, he's recorded them independently and is trying to do more in 2023. Jarrett Hartness and Justin Dukes wrote a song that Blaine will soon be releasing on all digital platforms. Stay Tuned

Thank you for your time and conversation, Blaine!

More to come on IN A COUNTRY MINUTE

Blaine Bunting

Rose

She Could

Alcohol You Up

photos by Sean McGee

seanmcgeecreative.com