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Tyler Childers
Singer Tyler Childers, holding an acoustic guitar
Childers in 2018
Background information
Birth nameTimothy Tyler Childers
Born (1991-06-21) June 21, 1991 (age 32)
Lawrence County, Kentucky
Origin Louisa, Kentucky
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • Songwriter
  • Philanthropist
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active2010–present
LabelsHickman Holler/ RCA Nashville
Member ofTyler Childers and the Food Stamps
Website tylerchildersmusic.com

Timothy Tyler Childers ( /tʃɪldərz/ CHILL-dərz; born June 21, 1991) is an American singer and songwriter. His music is a mix of neotraditional country, bluegrass, and folk. He released his breakout studio album Purgatory in August 2017. Childers has released six studio albums and a number of EPs and singles.

Early life

Tyler Childers was born and raised in Lawrence County, Kentucky. [2] His father worked in the coal industry and his mother is a nurse. [3] He learned to sing in church where he sang in the church choir. [4] He started to play guitar and write songs when he was around 13. [5] He attended Lawrence County High School until he transferred to nearby Paintsville, in Johnson County, Kentucky, from which he graduated in 2009. [6] Fellow country musicians Chris Stapleton ( Staffordsville), Loretta Lynn ( Butcher Hollow), and Crystal Gayle also hail from Johnson County, while Sturgill Simpson, a known acquaintance of Childers’, hails from nearby Jackson, Breathitt County.

Childers studied for a semester at Western Kentucky University, and enrolled at Bluegrass Community and Technical College for a few semesters. [7] He dropped out of college and did odd jobs for some time while pursuing a music career. [8]

Career

Childers began performing in Lexington, Kentucky and Huntington, West Virginia. [9] In 2011, when he was 19, Childers released his first album, Bottles And Bibles. He has also released two EPs recorded in 2013 at Red Barn Radio, a radio show from Lexington. [4] The two EPs were later released as one under the name Live on Red Barn Radio I & II after the success of his album Purgatory, and reached No. 5 on Heatseekers Albums. [10] He performed with a backing band called The Food Stamps. [11]

He had his first success with Purgatory, released on August 4, 2017. [12] [13] The album was produced by Sturgill Simpson and David Ferguson and recorded at The Butcher Shoppe in Nashville. [14] Simpson also played guitar and sang backing vocals on the album, with Miles Miller on drums, Stuart Duncan on fiddle and Russ Paul on other instruments. [15] It debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart, No. 17 on the Country albums chart and No. 4 on the Americana/Folk albums chart. [5] In September 2018, Childers won Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2018 Americana Music Honors & Awards, where he gave an acceptance speech noted for its criticism of the Americana genre label, saying that "as a man who identifies as a country music singer, I feel Americana ain't no part of nothing and is a distraction from the issues that we're facing on a bigger level as country music singers. It kind of feels like purgatory." [16]

Country Squire, a second album under the Hickman Holler label, and Childers' third overall, was released on August 2, 2019. This album was again produced by Simpson and Ferguson. [17] The video of the lead single from the album House Fire was also released on May 16, 2019. [18] "All Your'n", the second single from the album, was nominated for Best Country Solo Performance at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. [19]

On September 18, 2020, Childers released Long Violent History, [20] an album consisting mainly of traditional fiddle tracks. [21] The album closes with the title track, which discusses racism, civil unrest, and police brutality. He released a video message to accompany the song, in which he discussed his intention for the album in general and the title track in particular, calling for empathy above all else, [22] and explaining that the profits from the album will support underserved communities in the Appalachian region, through Childers' Hickman Holler Appalachian Relief Fund.

On September 30, 2022, Childers released a triple album Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?. The album is divided into three parts: Hallelujah, Jubilee, and Joyful Noise, and eight songs are presented in three different ways (Jubilee versions for example have additional instruments added to the Hallelujah version). [23] The album charted at No. 8, which is Childers' first top 10 album on Billboard 200, based on 27,000 units earned in the first week. [24]

Childers released a new single in July 2023 titled " In Your Love", which was co-written with Geno Seale. The release was followed by the announcement of a new upcoming album Rustin' In the Rain. The accompanying music video for the single was written by Silas House, and depicts a relationship between two gay coal miners in the 1950s. [25] Rustin' In the Rain was released on September 8, 2023. The album features a cover of S.G. Goodman's song "Space and Time".

Childers was announced [26] as one of the headliners in the 2024 Bourbon & Beyond festival in his home state, taking place in Louisville, KY in September.

Musical style

Childers' music is influenced by his home state of Kentucky and its connection to country music and bluegrass. [8] He often writes about coal mining, which was his father's occupation, and its effects. Rebecca Bengal, writing for The Guardian, described Childers' songs as a "counternarrative to the outsiders who seek to perpetuate stereotypes of backwardness and poverty." [27] Childers emphasizes lyrical content in songs, comparing the songwriting process to telling short stories about past relationships and his youth. [28]

In January 2020, Childers maintained his position on Americana during an interview with World Cafe: [29]

Everybody always talks about the state of country music and puts down commercial country and [says] "something's gotta be done" and "we need to be elevating artists that are doing more traditional country." But then we're not calling those artists country artists, they're getting put into this Americana thing. It is what it is, and I don't really know how to define what Americana is. We're our own thing, it's a new time, and I don't know what it's called but I've been calling it country, y'know? I think, a lot of times, it's kind of become just a costume. [30]

Personal life

In 2015, Childers married fellow performer Senora May, who is also a Kentucky native. In May 2022, they announced that they were expecting their first child. [31]

Childers and his wife, Senora May started Hickman Hollar Appalachian Relief Fund in 2020 to bring awareness and financial support for philanthropic efforts in the Appalachian Region. [32] [33]

While not explicitly affiliated with any political party, Childers expressed support for coal miners' rights, as well as same-sex marriage, in the music video of his 2023 song "In Your Love". He supported Charles Booker's campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2022 [34] and sang at the second inauguration of Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, who is a Democrat. [35]

Childers has described himself in 2020 as a "recovering alcoholic" who had "drunk and drugged himself around the world playing music for the better part of eleven years." He noted in September 2020 that he had "six months of sobriety." [36] As part of a New Year's Eve performance in Lexington, Kentucky in 2023, Childers mentioned that he drank his last beer a day before he and Sturgill Simpson played at Rupp Arena [37] on February 28, 2020. [38]

The Food Stamps band members

Current members

Discography

Awards and nominations

Award Year Category Nominee/Work Result Ref.
Americana Music Honors & Awards 2018 Emerging Artist of the Year Tyler Childers Won [16]
Grammy Awards 2020 Best Country Solo Performance "All Your'n" Nominated [43]
2022 Best Folk Album Long Violent History Nominated [44]
2024 Best Country Solo Performance " In Your Love" Nominated
Best Country Song Nominated
Best Music Video Nominated
Best Country Album Rustin' in the Rain Nominated
Best Americana Performance "Help Me Make It Through the Night" Nominated

References

  1. ^ Jones, Ross. "Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers And More Announced For Two Step Inn 2023". Holler. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Childers Catching National Exposure" (PDF). Country Music Highway: 6.
  3. ^ Hanks, Michelle (September 1, 2017). "Tyler Childers: "It's a Damn Good Feeling to Come Back Home"". No Depression.
  4. ^ a b Hanks, Michelle (January 22, 2014). "Michelle Evans Interviews Tyler Childers". Nine Bullets.
  5. ^ a b Wickstrom, Matt (August 29, 2017). "Creative Types: Tyler Childers". Smiley Pete Publishing.
  6. ^ Preston, Tim. "Tyler Childers to join Sundy Best for flood-relief concert". The Daily Independent.
  7. ^ Copley, Rich (March 23, 2014). "Rich Copley: Tyler Childers' music has grown up with him". Lexington Herald-Leader.
  8. ^ a b Moss, Marissa R. (August 24, 2018). "How Songwriter Tyler Childers Became the 21st Century Voice of Appalachia". Rolling Stone.
  9. ^ Crawford, Robert (September 4, 2017). "Hear Tyler Childers Talk Sturgill Simpson, Kerouac With Chris Shiflett". Rolling Stone.
  10. ^ "Heatseekers Album". Billboard. July 14, 2018.
  11. ^ Deutsch, Joni (July 24, 2015). "Tyler Childers, the (Beloved) Redheaded Stepson of the Huntington Music Scene". West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Archived from the original on August 25, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  12. ^ "10 New Country Artists You Need to Know: July 2017". Rolling Stone. July 11, 2017.
  13. ^ Broughton, Kevin (August 2, 2017). "Tyler Childers: The Farce the Music Interview". Farce the Music.
  14. ^ Wickstrom, Matt. "Estill County's Tyler Childers gets Sturgill Simpson's help on new album". Lexington Herald Leader.
  15. ^ Moss, Marissa R. (June 22, 2017). "Hear Sturgill Simpson Protege Tyler Childers' New 'Whitehouse Road'". Rolling Stone.
  16. ^ a b Gage, Jeff (September 13, 2018). "Tyler Childers, Rosanne Cash Sound Off at 2018 Americana Honors & Awards". Rolling Stone.
  17. ^ Liptak, Carena (20 May 2019). "Bottles & Bibles - Tyler Childers". The Boot.
  18. ^ Bloom, Madison (May 16, 2019). "Tyler Childers Announces New Album Produced by Sturgill Simpson". Pitchfork.
  19. ^ "Kentucky singer-songwriter Tyler Childers gets his first Grammy nomination". The Courier-Journal. November 21, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  20. ^ "Long Violent History - Tyler Childers" – via iTunes.
  21. ^ Leimkuehler, Matthew (September 18, 2020). "Tyler Childers sings of civil unrest, systemic racism on surprise album 'Long Violent History'".
  22. ^ Childers, Tyler (September 18, 2020). "A message from Tyler". YouTube.
  23. ^ Freeman, Jon (September 8, 2022). "Tyler Childers Announces Triple Album 'Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?'". Rolling Stone.
  24. ^ Zellner, Xander (October 11, 2022). "Slipknot Tops Billboard Artist 100 Chart Thanks to 'The End, So Far' Debut". Billboard.
  25. ^ Ann Powers (July 27, 2023). "Tyler Childers is back, and taking chances". NPR. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  26. ^ "Bourbon & Beyond 2024 - September 19, 20, 21, 22 - Louisville, KY". Bourbon & Beyond. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
  27. ^ Bengal, Rebecca (August 1, 2019). "Tyler Childers: 'In country music, nobody is thinking about how to move people'". The Guardian.
  28. ^ Dickinson, Chrissie (February 7, 2018). "Tyler Childers is, essentially, just a storyteller". Chicago Tribune.
  29. ^ Douris, Raina. "WORLD CAFE PLAYLIST FOR 01/27/2020". World Cafe. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  30. ^ Langeler, Wes. "Tyler Childers Doubles Down On Americana Critique: "It's Kind Of Become Just A Costume"". Whiskey Riff. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  31. ^ Liebig, Lorie (May 29, 2023). "Tyler Childers and Senora May Are Expecting Their First Child". The Boot.
  32. ^ "Hickman Holler Appalachian Relief Fund". Hickman Holler Appalachian Relief Fund. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  33. ^ Trigger (2021-02-16). "Tyler Childers Puts Hickman Holler Relief Funds to Good Use - Saving Country Music". www.savingcountrymusic.com. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  34. ^ Citizen, The Mountain (2022-09-14). "Tyler Childers wears Charles Booker shirt for closing performance of Septemberfest". The Mountain Citizen. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
  35. ^ Tyler Childers performs at Gov. Andy Beshear's inauguration, retrieved 2023-12-25
  36. ^ A message from Tyler., retrieved 2024-01-11
  37. ^ Tyler Childers Chokes Up Talking About His Sobriety @ The 2023 New Years Eve Show Lexington, retrieved 2024-01-11
  38. ^ Tunis, Walter (February 29, 2020). "Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers have a rich, reflective homecoming at sold-out Rupp show". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  39. ^ a b c Marden, Chris (May 14, 2019). "Tyler Childers & the Food Stamps / Plaza Live / 5/6/19". Grateful Web.
  40. ^ Homolka, Greg (October 31, 2019). "Tyler Childers Continues Meteoric Rise, Delivers Big at Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Oregon". Glide Magazine.
  41. ^ "Tyler Childers Returns Home To The MAC In Prestonsburg". Capture Kentucky.
  42. ^ Trigger (2022-06-18). "Tyler Childers Plays Telluride Bluegrass, Adds New Band Member". Saving Country Music. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  43. ^ "2020 GRAMMY Awards: Complete Nominees List". GRAMMY.com. 2019-11-18. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  44. ^ "Tyler Childers | Artist". grammy.com. Retrieved 2024-02-08.