Photo by Mike Lamb Kayla Daniels performs during Saturday’s Vesta River Days Bash in the Bunker.

VESTA — Kayla Daniels is still living the dream — she’s just doing it from Minnesota.

The southwest Minnesota native moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to chase a songwriter dream, but ended up doing a lot of singing. She recently returned to live in Minnesota so she could be closer to family but still travels to Nashville on a regular basis.

On Saturday, Daniels returned to her roots and played at the Vesta River Days Bash in the Bunker. She’s from Balaton.

“I pretty much went down there (Nashville) to be a songwriter,” Daniels said after finishing her part of the Bash. “I sang every single day while I was there. I played on Broadway (Nashville). So I was basically a human jukebox.”

Daniels explained she didn’t get a lot of opportunities to play her original work.

“In downtown on Broadway they want you to sing cover music. So it was fun, but it burns you out real fast,” she said.

In between songs Saturday, she spoke to the audience about her time in Nashville.

“I went through a lot of stuff while I was there,” she told the audience. “I kind of wrote down my feelings as I went. This song (“Come Back Swinging”) is probably about two years of emotions building up. I’m pretty proud of it and it will be on my album hopefully coming out this fall.”

Then before singing another song, she talked more about her emotions.

“Normally when I’m feeling good, I don’t write songs. It’s only when I’m pissed off when I write songs,” she said.

Daniels describes her music as Sheryl Crow type songs.

“Obviously I like classic rock. I also love country, especially classic country. It’s kind of a mixture of those things thrown into one. Just all over the place. I’m just a general music lover.”

Her music, however, developed while she laid in the crib as a baby.

“I’ve actually been singing since like 2. As long as I can remember. Actually, mom pulled out my baby book the other day and she said I was humming myself to sleep when I was 7 and half months old,” Daniels said.

Daniels said she originally moved to Nashville on her own. But later her boyfriend, Billy Mead, joined her. They recently got married.

“He moved down there with me so I wouldn’t be alone. He was very sweet for doing that,” she said.

She moved back to Minnesota to not only be closer to her nieces and nephews who are growing up, but for financial reasons as well.

“I went down there and got better in songwriting and made the connections I needed for recording and writing,” she said. “When I was in Nashville I was always coming up here to sing and do shows up here. It ended up actually costing me more money to live there. So now basically I’m doing completely the opposite. I’m living here, traveling down there because I make more money here singing then I do down there. I still go down there to write and record. I try to make trips down there once a month.”

Daniels will be performing at the Wheels Across the Prairie Museum in Tracy on Sunday and Saloon 59 in Garvin on June 16.

Meanwhile, Daniels is still chasing the dream.

“It would be really cool to hear my song on the radio,” she said. “Whether it’s me singing it, or somebody else. That would be a dream for me.”