2008 Best Folk/Americana Performer
36.66% Sunny Taylor*
Others with Votes (more than one):
* On the ballot | 
Sunny Taylor didn't have much time to relax at the Whammys. It seemed like just as she was getting comfortable, chatting with friends and fans alike, she was being called up to the stage to accept another award, first for Best Folk/Americana Act, then for Best Singer/Songwriter and finally for Best Solo Live Act. Getting to the stage this year was at least a little easier for Taylor who was eight and a half months pregnant at last year's ceremony. Many might remember Taylor's picture from the 2008 Whammy issue of whatzup, with Taylor holding her award next to her tummy which was bulging with Josie, who turns one on March 30. Taylor said that the past year was a rewarding though busy one for her and her husband, Jason Berry, formerly of Jettingham. "Each kid has really thrown us for a loop. You kind of expect every baby to be the same, but they're all so different, and Josie, she's a great baby. She smiles all the time. She's really joyful," she said. Taylor is no stranger to winning multiple Whammys. She's double-fisted the Best Singer/Songwriter and Best Live Solo Act five times. But this is her first Folk/Americana award. "This is a new one. There's a space on my wall just waiting for it," she said. Taylor is herself an unabashed fan of the Fort Wayne music scene and said she is honored to be classed with the likes of Mike Conley (runner-up in the Singer/Songwriter and Live Solo Act categories) and Possum Trot Orchestra and Lee Miles (strong contenders for Folk/Americana honors). "Fort Wayne is lucky to have the kind of talent it has in this town," she said. A hater of winter, Taylor said she often struggles to get out and perform this time of year, and she's been grateful to guitarist Hubie Ashcraft, with whom she has a standing gig every Thursday at the Woodland Lounge. The two have a CD coming out soon, a live album taped at the duo's acoustic performance at Come2Go in November. "I tend to lose all motivation and passion for music in winter, and Hubie has really kept me alive," she said. Taylor has been singing since she had a voice to do so and performing mostly in coffee shops and other intimate venues since she was in high school. In addition to the upcoming live album, she has three CDs to her credit. She said her goal for the future is to just make more time for music. "I need time to myself. I only look in the mirror maybe once a day, and even then it's by accident and it's usually frightening. I just need to sit down and make it happen." (Deborah Kennedy) |
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