Kalle Benallie
ICT
Blaine Bailey said he was a “young, young cat” when he wrote his first song when he was either 10 or 11. It was about his grandpa, who died a year before, called “Jammin’ in Heaven.”
The 23-year-old remembers playing it for his dad who introduced him to music early on.
“My dad was a guitar player and his family were all musicians. All of them could play guitar and some of them could break off on bass or drums if they needed to,” Bailey, United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, said. “He bought me one of those half-sized guitars you can get from Walmart and he just brought me to the jam nights with him and always let me just sit there and strum …”
His dad listened to classic rock and blues and his mom was a fan of red dirt country music. Bailey inherited their music tastes. His other musical influences include Stevie Ray Vaugh, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Merle Haggard and the Turnpike Troubadours, who are also from his hometown, Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
“I really started listening and finding all these bands and listening to lyrics and then that’s when I really started the songwriting journey,” he said.
He primarily plays guitar but can play bass, harmonica and a bit of pedal steel. Bailey also works for his tribe in the housing department, running a crew that remodels people’s houses, builds handicap ramps for elders or fixes houses.
Bailey released his third album “Indian Country” on Oct. 13. He said when he first started writing that he didn’t focus on his culture but progressed to talk about Native issues and where he’s from.
Halfway through writing his recent album, Bailey was struggling personally with alcohol addiction.
“I wrote the song ‘Crater’ and that was like my rock bottom song and it inspired me to write the rest of the album and basically, from this album, I’m just pushing out positivity and overcoming adversity and just appreciation for where I’m from and pushing out the good stuff and trying to let people know that there is a light at the tunnel, even when you’re in the worst spot that you can feel like you could be,” he said.
His song “Cigarettes and Roses” was featured in the third season of the FX television series “Reservation Dogs.”
Recently Bailey’s music was heard by a wider audience from the CBS show, “The Road,” on Oct. 19 where 12 musicians compete to become the opening act for Keith Urban on his tour and a record contract. Writer and director Taylor Sheridan and country artist Blake Shelton produced the show.
Bailey said he received an inquiry a year ago from Sheridan’s team from previous interactions over email. Then earlier this year the team reached out to him again and Bailey traveled to Los Angeles to audition. After multiple auditions, he finally advanced to Nashville, Tennessee, to appear on the show.
He was the first contestant eliminated after performing his song “T-shirt.” Bailey said the biggest lesson he learned from it was staying true to himself.
“I was like they might relate to this song, they might not,” he said. “They might feel called out. They might not like it, and I didn’t really know what was going to happen, but I just stuck true to who I am and what I believe.”
The chorus to the song is: “Been known as a savage by the ones who ravaged / and tore through the home that we have made / back when a pale face could be so out of place / in what they call America these days / oh, can′t you see that without me / You’d have a plain white tee.”
Bailey said it was difficult and lonely to be what felt like the only Native in Nashville when he performed on the show, but added that his Native community discovering him is a benefit.
“They’re finding me and they’re really supportive and it’s really, really great,” he said. “I’m happy with how everything turned out.”
He said his advice for another Indigenous musician or aspiring musician is to be authentically themselves.
“I would probably just say remember who you are, where you come from, and that we’re the original people of this land and just stay true to yourself and be proud of who you are and just think about what kind of impact you could make for the people that are looking up to you,” he said.
Bailey plans to tour more next year and will begin working on his next album.
Listen to his latest album below.