A loyal group of hometown fans — dubbed the “Pryorities” and now expanded across the country— have rallied in person and online to back an Orcutt man singing his way toward the finals on “The Voice” television show.
On Monday night at Rooney’s Irish Pub — in the process of becoming Blast 825 Brewhouse — three dozen viewers gathered to cheer on Pryor Baird’s performance as they hope to see him land in the final eight Tuesday night.
“These are the die-hards right here. … You guys have been posting like crazy, and sharing, and hash tagging, and doing all that’s needed to get Pryor all the votes he can,” Orcutt fan club leader Ali Bailey told the group.
“He’s in the top ten tonight,” she said Monday. “Two are going are home tomorrow, and we know it’s not Pryor because he’s going all the way.”
Joseph Borjas, now an attorney, has known Baird since fifth grade, and the pair grew close in high school, where they shared a love for music.
“It’s amazing. It’s the dream that I think everyone close to him wanted to see happen,” Borjas said.
“All of us who know him well know that he had it in him,” Borjas added. “He’s always had that raw talent seeping out of him, and it’s just a matter of time until he got to the right stage to really introduce that to the world. It’s amazing to see that happen right now.”
Borjas said family across the country have rallied their friends to support Baird.
“It’s really cool to see across ages and geographic regions, the fans are coming out of the woodwork,” he said.
While Monday’s viewing party was smaller than in the past, the Pryorities plan to rally supporters for the final two weeks.
During commercial breaks Monday, Ryorities were tested on their fandom answering trivia questions such as Baird’s shoe size.
On Monday night, Baird performed “My Town,” by Montgomery Gentry, and drew favorable comments from the judges.
This season of “The Voice,” which airs on KSBY Channel 6 Monday and Tuesday nights, began in late February with Baird drawing attention of all four coaches in blind auditions before landing on Blake Shelton’s team.
“You’re so dynamic and I’m so mad that you’re not on my team,” coach Adam Levine said after Baird performed Monday night. “But you’re amazing, dude.”
As soon as voting opened, Baird’s fans quickly took to social media to remind supporters to cast their 10 votes.
Voting is open until 9 a.m. Tuesday via “The Voice” app or online by clicking here. Purchasing his song from iTunes, available here, also counts as a vote.
Two candidates will be eliminated during Tuesday night’s show.
Baird has survived multiple rounds so far and drawn support from top musicians. After Baird performed “Night Moves,” Bob Seger responded on social media.
“Very cool that fans picked “Night Moves” for Pryor to perform last night on ‘The Voice’… He killed it!” Seger said.
Likewise, the performance of the song made famous by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band brought notice from Rolling Stone.
Baird attended Orcutt area schools, including May Grisham Elementary and Orcutt Junior High, and graduated from Righetti High School in 2001.
He performed his music locally playing at local establishments and events before moving to Nashville to pursue his dream.
Shortly after Baird landed a spot on the show, his sister, Amy Julia Baird, started a GoFundMe page to help purchase banners, posters and more to encourage people to vote for him.
“From an early age, Pryor always had a guitar in his hands and performed in every talent show this side of Orcutt and Santa Maria,” his sister said on the GoFundMe page. “Music is his way of connecting people and sharing his passion. Orcutt friends will remember Pryor as a humble guy in high school who was a natural athlete in swim and water polo.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.