Featured Artist
Sabyn
Born 1978
Director, film producer, actor, screenwriter, songwriter and musician, Sabyn has brought a fiercely independent and personal creative vision to every project he has undertaken. And yet, he’s no Hollywood flash, a few minutes of conversation reveals a artist who understands the value of legacy and the singular importance of speaking the truth, whether on the printed page, on film, or through music.
Biography
The son of Randy Parton and the niece of Dolly Parton, Sabyn Mayfield was born in Tennessee but spent most of his formative years in Hollywood with his mother, Laray Mayfield, an Emmy-award winning casting director.
“In the 80s, music videos were the point of entry for younger talents, like my mom,” Sabyn says. “So my childhood was spent on set for videos — Madonna, Janet Jackson, Aerosmith — all these iconic artists and iconic videos. That was just normal for me, but I was a terribly shy kid. It wasn’t until I graduated high school that I embraced my creativity and started working with film.”
In 2001, Sabyn graduated from the prestigious Los Angeles Film School. Working in both film and television, he quickly built a reputation as a skilled production assistant and expanded his career into screenwriting, directing, and producing. He’s directed music videos for a multitude of artists and made his feature film directorial debut in 2017 with Boomtown, starring Tyler Riggs, Rachel Brosnahan, Boyd Holbrook, Dwight Yoakam, and Jocelin Donahue.
“Maybe in an alternate universe where I grew up around my dad’s side of the family, I would have been more musically inclined. I think it was always in my DNA to be musical and creative, but I’m an 80’s baby, and hip hop and sampling became my entry point to music.”
Sabyn Parton: Evolving a Legacy
Sabyn’s current, primary focus is on film projects as the head of his production imprint Stay Fly LLC. He also serves as CEO of The Bridge to Recovery, a trauma and codependency treatment center located in Bowling Green, Kentucky. However, he still keeps his hand in music through such recordings as his contribution to the Smoky Mountain DNA album, “Holy Water” a remix of his Aunt Dolly’s song “The Seeker,” and the Owepar-released single, “Foolin Around,” a remix and re-imagining of a song recorded written and originally recorded by his uncle, Floyd Parton.
“It is a great honor to be at the forefront of carrying the torch of the Parton musical legacy,” Sabyn says. “I feel very fortunate to be able to put a unique spin on our family tradition and appeal to audiences both old and new.”
