Lyndy Butler, So. Utah's Rootsie Pop Sweetheart

Playful, soulful folk-pop – that is singer/songwriter Lyndy Butler’s definition of Rootsie Pop – her label for her genre of music that she claims “tastes good, sounds better.”

The first time I spoke with Lyndy she was sitting on the beach with her kids at Sand Hollow Reservoir. In between questions she blew up a floatie, slathered a kid in sunscreen and became enthusiastic about her fans, her family and her music. Lyndy is, above all things, authentic. Her songs resonate with her fans because her upbeat and unique melodies are based on real life experiences that come from her childhood, her own children and her life. It is easy to relate to the vivid earthy imagery of her lyrics that are a little bit country, a little bit bluegrass a little bit folk rock. The charm of her music is that all her songs have a different feel. Although she admits that even in her more soulful songs the tempo always turns out sounding happier than she may have intended.

Lyndy says her songs are written for “kids and those who are still kids at heart.” Case in point: her recent video release “Code Breaker” tells the heartbreaking story of two best friends – one girl and one boy. The boy brings another girl into the club house and all of a sudden girl number 1 is jealous, much to her own surprise.

The song from the video is part of her first album release “The Dream.” The album released this year has 10 tracks “with songs like “Never Had a Pony,” “ The Swing Set Song,” and “Tug Of War.”

Music grabbed a hold of Lyndy at a young age. She wrote her first song at 6 years old. She has been singing and writing songs ever since. Her father was a sports announcer and her mother was a music teacher songwriter. From each of them she gained the confidence and the talent to perform and write her own music.

In high school she added guitar to her musical talents and won a scholarship to a songwriter’s camp where she fell in love with songwriting. She also started a high school band that eventually went its separate ways like many high school bands do.

According to Lyndybutler.com “Singing and writing music has always been Lyndy's love but she never imagined doing it for a career. She wanted to be a teacher and use music to lift and encourage young lives. She graduated with her teaching degree from Dixie State College and in 2008 opened a performing arts preschool called 'Talent Sprouts' in Santa Clara, Utah. While teaching and starting a family, her music was put on hold. In 2010, she said goodbye to the preschoolers, wiped the dust off of her guitar and returned to song-writing. “

She entered her first songwriting competition and was chosen out of 60 professional and amateur songwriters to compete in the performance showcase where she proceeded to take away the grand prize. Next, she was on her way to the Durango Songwriters Expo in Santa Barbara where she got to meet with music industry professionals. After meeting with the music industry Lyndy came back with a plan, although it was not the intense plan they had laid out for her.

Lyndy is a Southern Utah girl to the core. Born and raised here she now lives in Hurricane with her husband Jonathon (also a Southern Utah native) and two kids with a third on the way. Although Lyndy’s music is clearly central to her destiny, she decided to stay grounded in her role as a mother and wife. After meeting with music industry specialists and being told that she had real potential but it would take trips to Nashville, music tours and a hefty sum of seed money, Lyndy reevaluated what she really wanted. And she wanted to take the time to be a mother to her young children. Family trumped fame. Fortunately, she has a growing fan base in Southern Utah and throughout the world. “It is so cool. I have fans in China, Russia, New York City,” she says.

Through youtube, her recent album release, Kickstarter and an upcoming deal with Pandora, Lyndy says she is able to take her music to a large audience –“a virtual tour” she calls it. Meanwhile, she relishes the opportunity to give concerts at local and regional fairs and events. She is just as happy playing for an audience of one as she is for an audience of hundreds. After all, she got her start playing fairs and festivals in Southern Utah. And she has another motive for loving the small town festival setting.

“I have fun at festivals where I can bring my family. I feel selfish when I am off doing music by myself. I like incorporating my family,” she says. “And maybe I am just a small town kid.”

Backing her up on stage, her band is made up all well-known musicians in their own right.

On banjo: Jordan Paul. Jordan is often her only accompaniment when she does smaller shows that are acoustic only. It’s just Lyndy, her piano and the banjo.

On Electric and Acoustic Guitar: Rustin Reber. Rustin is from Enterprise but is often in New Orleans playing other professional gigs.

On Bass: John Houston: “John is a legend,” says Lyndy. He has recorded many of Southern Utah’s bands.

On Piano: Lyndy Butler

On Drums: Jared Johnson has played drums for several bands.

On Fiddle: J.C. Christian and Lyndy met at an open mic night.

In April Lyndy will have her third child. After November she will take a hiatus from concerts, although she will continue to write music for herself as well as some personal pieces for fans who helped her raise funds to launch her first album. But she has two more concerts where you can catch her unique and addicting music.

She will be playing at the Apple Festival in New Harmony at 3 p.m. and then again in November she will open for Fictionist at the Jubilee of Trees.

When Lyndy is not performing she is spending time outdoors going on geocaching adventures with her family, hanging out by the lake slathering her kids up in sunscreen and experiencing life. Meanwhile I will be humming her catchy lyrics and anxiously waiting to hear her new songs next spring.

You can also hear more of her music at Lyndybutler.com. Her music is available for purchase on her website or through itunes. Or find her here on facebook.