Musician shares his journey, rise to celebrity
Long before musician Craig Wayne Boyd became famous on the hit TV series “The Voice,” he spent a decade in the trenches in Nashville, angling for a record deal. He traveled around the country playing at different bars, including Key West where he stills has a few friends.
“I played at Cowboy Bill’s spring break of 2008, 2009 and 2010. Those were fun times. It feels like family when I come to Key West and everybody knows me. Ask my friend Tanner who is still here,” he said. “I was no overnight success.”
Being on the “The Voice” helped his career, but he credits his relationship with mentor and country superstar Blake Shelton as the most important thing to come out of the experience.
“I can’t help but admire Blake’s work ethic. He worked hard every bit of the way to get to where he is. The knowledge he gave me was invaluable,” Boyd said.
Although mentored by Shelton, Boyd has no intention of copying his style. He said he doesn’t want to be pigeonholed into any particular genre. So saying, he pulled out a set of headphones and offered up a new track; only his girlfriend has heard it. It included rock, guitar riffs, banjo and a smooth upbeat melody that might be played on any radio station except an Oldies … but those listeners would probably like it too.
His time on the TV series lead to another interest: acting. Boyd said his “real” attitude makes it easy for him to slip into different roles and identities. Most recently he shot a Nissan commercial and hopes for roles in films, if they come.
With the spotlight on, he said it is a struggle seeing his son as much as he likes, but when he is with him he gives him full attention.
“The cell phone goes away,” he said.
Find him on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and to get the full list of his upcoming schedule visit CraigWayneBoyd.com.
