When you’re raised singing hymns in church or harmonizing with your family on the front porch, chances are good you will grow up loving to sing. This description fits local singer-songwriter Michelle Saylors to a tee.

Saylors, a native of Sparta, Tennessee, hometown of bluegrass legend Lester Flatt, grew up listening to gospel, bluegrass and country music, and she is still moved by that music today. “It still sounds like home to me when I hear it,” she said.

Coming from a musical family has made all the difference for Saylors. “My oldest brother JR has been playing and singing in church his entire life. My oldest sister and oldest niece are also very talented musically,” she said. “When I am home in Tennessee, we all sing old songs and hymns on the porch with lots of instruments and voices. Those are the best memories. There’s nothing like family harmonies.”

Saylors, who began piano lessons at age 10, struggled to read music. “I could learn it by ear much quicker,” she said. “I continued piano lessons on and off for about five years at my mother’s hope I might be a church piano player.”

Her oldest sister had a guitar and a Mel Bay chord book lying around, and Saylors transitioned to that instrument naturally. “My parents gave me my first Alvarez guitar for high school graduation,” she said. “I was extremely shy and it took me years to feel comfortable singing solo in front of anyone. I later picked up the mandolin and performed in a little bluegrass trio, playing churches and local festivals in Tennessee.”

Eventually, Saylors entered the field of human services and migrated to Rhode Island. Today, she is an education program coordinator at Newport Hospital and is sometimes asked about offering her music at work-related events.

“In April, I played at a celebration of life event at the hospital, honoring the lives of cancer patients who passed in 2018. This is the third year and I am so honored to be part of something so meaningful with my music. It’s those opportunities that keep me singing,” she said.

Balancing a day job with a music career is no easy feat. “I try to limit myself to one to two gigs a month,” she said. “I have so many hobbies, like gardening, golf, traveling, kayaking and biking. The music is always playing in my head, so it’s never far away.”

What does she get out of performing live?

“I’ve never been one to crave the spotlight or be the center of attention. Performing is something I had to grow into,” she said. “In my early human services work, I was given opportunities to be involved in music sessions with folks diagnosed with Autism or other developmental disabilities. I was able to really see how music can impact people emotionally and physically and… just brings people together. This is what prompted me to start performing in hopes that my music would bring something positive to the listener. When I perform, I hope that people enjoy something in my song selection [and] feel an emotion or reflect on a memory that makes them smile.”

I have had the pleasure of hearing Saylors perform several times and am always struck by her honest and sincere presentation of each song. Her smooth voice, with just a hint of her Tennessee accent, instantly draws in her audience.