A 17-year-old musician from Sand Springs has several big gigs coming up, including the Born & Raised Music Festival in Pryor. Ty Smith is still in high school, but spends most of his time rehearsing and traveling for performances.

"That has been our big thing is, if you have good grades, you can be on the road...and I have not failed them yet," he said.

Music has always been his motivation. At just 4 years old, Smith learned to play the drums. At 12, he taught himself guitar, and by 14, he had written his first hit single, Rocky Mountain Pines .

I was diagnosed with a rare condition called tarsal coalition. It put me out of playing baseball, kept me from walking for two and a half years, so that song was about being stuck in the house and just wanting to be somewhere else.

It was rea

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