Roxy Roca

“I’m on a mission from God,” ROXY ROCA vocalist Taye Cannon deadpanned before breaking into laughter. “Well, maybe not exactly, but it kinda felt that way at first, and it still does sometimes.”

Ok, so the Blues Brothers reference is a little cringe-worthy, but it’s an apt description for the path Cannon traveled assembling Austin-based ROXY ROCA, although the Blues Brothers story starts off in jail, and Taye’s starts in, well, Alabama. Close enough.

“I grew up in the Deep South immersed in my dad’s music — Jackie Wilson, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, James Brown. Basically, if it had a groove, my dad had it,” he says. “When Motown 25 hit the TV it was all over — I knew this was what I wanted to do. I remember staying up all night with my cousins, emulating James Brown and Michael Jackson in our grandfather’s carport.”

Things didn’t work out the way he expected, at least not right away. Teenage years, rebellion, and punk rock created a detour for the fledgling belter. “I couldn’t re