BAND BIO

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Taylor Steele and the Love Preachers are a 4 piece Americana band with a powerful woman singer/songwriter as its driving force.  Based out of Effingham, IL, they perform a powerful blend of roots rock with soul, country, blues, and funk influences. The group performs original music written by Taylor Steele, 25 year old rhythm guitarist and vocalist, along with their interpretations of songs by their favorite artists.

The Love Preachers have a way of sneaking up on you. The music is soulful, but sublime. The songs are smart and original, with roots that take you through rock and roll back to the blues of the old south. The vocal quality of Taylor Steele is reminiscent of great legendary singers like Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples but also modern stars like Susan Tedeschi and Gillian Welch.  Stemming from these influences, she has immense control of her voice as she belts out notes and improvises, all while finding a beautiful balance between vibrato, tone, and projection.  Just when you think you have it figured out, the Love Preachers start preaching, Taylor’s voice starts soaring, and they take you for the ride you won't soon forget.

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Searching, the first album from Taylor Steele and the Love Preachers, brings it all together and tells Taylor’s story in musical and poetic fashion.  The songs are listed on the album chronologically starting with the song Jeremiah that she wrote when she was 13. The band traveled to Nashville, TN to record this record of 10 Steele originals and one Jimmie Rogers cover. They roped piano legend Catherine Marx into the project, which was recorded at County Q Productions and co-produced by Alison Prestwood. The result is an R&B inflected Americana album that sounds far beyond Taylor Steele’s then 21 years.

They will soon be releasing their second full album of original music centered around Taylor's new original songs connecting grief and loss to uplifting spiritual forces. Old country and soul come together telling the tale of her most recent chapter in life with musical arrangements that intentionally pull in and move the heart.

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Taylor Steele started singing when she was a young girl, joining her family on stage singing old time country music, 60's/70's bar band blues, and classic rock. She has covered a lot of ground since then and has spent a lot of time developing her self taught finger picking style.  Growing up, she would get lost in discovering and covering folk/rock, old country, and soul/blues artists including Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, The Band, Hank Williams Sr., Son House, Jimmie Rodgers, Neil Young, and Bonnie Raitt. This has informed Taylor’s songwriting and provided her with a wide range of excellent influences from which to draw.

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The band consists of lead vocals, acoustic resonator, and electric telecaster by Taylor Steele,  lead guitar and vocals by James Stewart, bass and vocals by Garrett Burris, drums and vocals by Kyle Heynen.

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Taylor and her Love Preachers have performed alongside artists Amanda Anne Platt & the Honeycutters, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Neal Francis, Ben Miller Band, Chicago Farmer, The Mighty Pines, Aaron Kamm & the One Drops, Ana Popovic, Steve Poltz, and The Wild Feathers

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