Tyler Childers

Timothy Tyler Childers (born June 21, 1991) is an American singer and songwriter. His music is a mix of country, bluegrass and folk. He released his breakthrough album Purgatory in August 2017. Childers released his surprise fourth and most recent LP, Long Violent History, via his own Hickman Holler Records in September 2020.

Tyler Childers
Background information
Birth nameTimothy Tyler Childers
Born (1991-06-21) June 21, 1991
Lawrence County, Kentucky
OriginPaintsville, Kentucky
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Instruments
  • Guitar
  • violin
Years active2010–present
LabelsHickman Holler
Websitetylerchildersmusic.com

Early life

Tyler Childers was born and raised in Lawrence County, Kentucky.[1] His father worked in the coal industry and his mother is a nurse.[2] He learned to sing in church where he sang in the church choir.[3] He started to play guitar and write songs when he was around 13.[4] He attended Paintsville High School in nearby Paintsville, Kentucky, and graduated in 2009.[5] Fellow country musicians Chris Stapleton (Staffordsville) and Loretta Lynn (Van Lear) also hail from areas around Paintsville. He studied for a semester at Western Kentucky University, and enrolled at Bluegrass Community and Technical College for a few semesters.[6] He dropped out of college and did odd jobs for some time while pursuing a music career.[7]

Career

Childers began performing in Lexington, Kentucky and Huntington, West Virginia.[8] 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.[3] The two EPs were later released as one after the success of his album Purgatory, and reached No. 5 on Heatseekers Albums.[9] He performed with a backing band called The Food Stamps.[10]

He had his first success with Purgatory, a breakthrough album released on August 4, 2017.[11][12] The album was produced by Sturgill Simpson and David Ferguson and recorded at The Butcher Shoppe in Nashville.[13] 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.[14] 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.[4] 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."[15]

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

On September 18, 2020, Childers released Long Violent History;[19] a surprise album consisting mainly of traditional fiddle tracks.[20] The album closes with the title track, "Long Violent History", an original song that 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.[21] The video also reveals that 100% of the profits from the album will be used to support underserved communities in the Appalachian region, through Childers' own Hickman Holler Appalachian Relief Fund.

Musical style

Childers' music is influenced by his home state of Kentucky and its connection to country music and bluegrass.[7] 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."[22] Childers emphasizes lyrical content in songs, comparing the songwriting process to telling short stories.[23]

In January 2020, Childers maintained his position on Americana during an interview with World Cafe:[24]

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.[25]

The Food Stamps band members

Current members

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
US
[29]
US
Country

[30]
US
Indie

[31]
US
Folk

[32]
CAN
[33]
UK Country
[34]
Bottles and Bibles[35]
Purgatory
  • Release date: August 4, 2017
  • Label: Hickman Holler
  • Formats: CD, digital download, vinyl
106 12 3 4
Country Squire
  • Release date: August 2, 2019
  • Label: Hickman Holler
  • Formats: CD, digital download, vinyl
12 1 1 86 1[37]
Long Violent History[39]
  • Release date: September 18, 2020
  • Label: Hickman Holler
  • Formats: Digital download, vinyl
45 6 1
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

EPs

Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
Heat

[40]
US
Indie

[31]
Live on Red Barn Radio[41]
  • Release date: October 24, 2013
  • Label: Tyler Childers & the Highwall
Live on Red Barn Radio II[42]
  • Release date: April 24, 2014
  • Label: Tyler Childers & the Highwall
Live on Red Barn Radio I & II
(rerelease of 2 EPs as one)
  • Release date: June 29, 2018
  • Label: Hickman Holler
  • Formats: CD, digital download, vinyl
5 14
Reimagined[43]
  • Release date: October 18, 2019
  • Label: Hickman Holler
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions Sales Album
US Country
[44]
US
AAA

[45]
2017 "Lady May"[46] Purgatory
"Whitehouse Road"[46]
"Universal Sound"[48]
2019 "House Fire"[49] 40 Country Squire
"All Your'n"[50] 46 16
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Other charted songs

Year Title Peak chart positions Album
US Country
[44]
2020 "Long Violent History" 48 Long Violent History

Music videos

Year Video Director(s) Ref.
2017 "Whitehouse Road" Brainwrap Productions [52]
2019 "House Fire" [49]
2019 "All Your'n" Matt Stawski [53]
2020 "Country Squire" Tony Moore [54]

Awards and nominations

Award YearCategoryNominee/WorkResultRef.
Americana Music Honors & Awards 2018Emerging Artist of the YearTyler ChildersWon[15]
Grammy Awards 2020 Best Country Solo Performance "All Your'n" Nominated [55]

References

  1. "Childers Catching National Exposure" (PDF). Country Music Highway: 6.
  2. Hanks, Michelle (September 1, 2017). "Tyler Childers: "It's a Damn Good Feeling to Come Back Home"". No Depression.
  3. Hanks, Michelle (January 22, 2014). "Michelle Evans Interviews Tyler Childers". Nine Bullets.
  4. Wickstrom, Matt (August 29, 2017). "Creative Types: Tyler Childers". Smiley Pete Publishing.
  5. Preston, Tim. "Tyler Childers to join Sundy Best for flood-relief concert". The Daily Independent.
  6. Copley, Rich (March 23, 2014). "Rich Copley: Tyler Childers' music has grown up with him". Lexington Herald-Leader.
  7. Moss, Marissa R. (August 24, 2018). "How Songwriter Tyler Childers Became the 21st Century Voice of Appalachia". Rolling Stone.
  8. Crawford, Robert (September 4, 2017). "Hear Tyler Childers Talk Sturgill Simpson, Kerouac With Chris Shiflett". Rolling Stone.
  9. "Heatseekers Album". Billboard. July 14, 2018.
  10. Deutsch, Joni (July 24, 2015). "Tyler Childers, the (Beloved) Redheaded Stepson of the Huntington Music Scene". West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
  11. "10 New Country Artists You Need to Know: July 2017". Rolling Stone. July 11, 2017.
  12. Broughton, Kevin (August 2, 2017). "Tyler Childers: The Farce the Music Interview". Farce the Music.
  13. Wickstrom, Matt. "Estill County's Tyler Childers gets Sturgill Simpson's help on new album". Lexington Herald Leader.
  14. Moss, Marissa R. (June 22, 2017). "Hear Sturgill Simpson Protege Tyler Childers' New 'Whitehouse Road'". Rolling Stone.
  15. Gage, Jeff (September 13, 2018). "Tyler Childers, Rosanne Cash Sound Off at 2018 Americana Honors & Awards". Rolling Stone.
  16. Liptak, Carena (20 May 2019). "Bottles & Bibles - Tyler Childers". The Boot.
  17. Bloom, Madison (May 16, 2019). "Tyler Childers Announces New Album Produced by Sturgill Simpson".
  18. "Kentucky singer-songwriter Tyler Childers gets his first Grammy nomination". The Courier-Journal. November 21, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  19. "Long Violent History - Tyler Childers" via iTunes.
  20. Leimkuehler, Matthew (September 18, 2020). "Tyler Childers sings of civil unrest, systemic racism on surprise album 'Long Violent History'".
  21. Childers, Tyler (September 18, 2020). "A message from Tyler".
  22. Bengal, Rebecca (August 1, 2019). "Tyler Childers: 'In country music, nobody is thinking about how to move people'". The Guardian.
  23. Dickinson, Chrissie (February 7, 2018). "Tyler Childers is, essentially, just a storyteller". Chicago Tribune.
  24. Douris, Raina. "WORLD CAFE PLAYLIST FOR 01/27/2020". World Cafe. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  25. Langeler, Wes. "Tyler Childers Doubles Down On Americana Critique: "It's Kind Of Become Just A Costume"". Whiskey Riff. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  26. Marden, Chris (May 14, 2019). "Tyler Childers & the Food Stamps / Plaza Live / 5/6/19". Grateful Web.
  27. Homolka, Greg (October 31, 2019). "Tyler Childers Continues Meteoric Rise, Delivers Big at Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Oregon". Glide Magazine.
  28. "Tyler Childers Returns Home To The MAC In Prestonsburg". Capture Kentucky.
  29. "Tyler Childers - Chart history (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  30. "Tyler Childers - Chart history (Top Country Albums)". Billboard.
  31. "Tyler Childers - Chart history (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
  32. "Tyler Childers - Chart history (Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard.
  33. "Tyler Childers - Chart history (Billboard Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
  34. "Official UK Country Artists Albums Chart".
  35. "Bottles & Bibles - Tyler Childers". iTunes.
  36. Bjorke, Matt (October 9, 2019). "Top Country Catalog Album Sales: October 9, 2019". RoughStock. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  37. "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20 09 August 2019 - 15 August 2019".
  38. Bjorke, Matt (March 10, 2020). "Top 10 Country Albums Pure Sales Chart: March 9, 2020". RoughStock. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  39. "Long Violent History - Tyler Childers". iTunes.
  40. "Tyler Childers - Chart history (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard.
  41. "Live On Red Barn Radio". Bandcamp.
  42. "Live On Red Barn Radio II". Bandcamp.
  43. Logan, Buddy (October 22, 2019). "Tyler Childers New 'Tyler Childers: Reimagined' is Out Now". Radio Texas, Live!.
  44. "Tyler Childers Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  45. "Tyler Childers Chart History (Triple A Songs)". Billboard.
  46. Sacher, Andrew (July 6, 2017). "Tyler Childers releasing debut album produced by Sturgill Simpson (listen)". BrooklynVegan.
  47. Bjorke, Matt (October 21, 2019). "Top 30 Digital Country Downloads: October 21, 2019". RoughStock. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  48. "Tyler Childers - Universal Sound - Single". Mills Record Company. July 7, 2017.
  49. Johnson, Ellen (May 16, 2019). "Tyler Childers' "House Fire" Is an Invitation to Boogie with Country's Resident Squire". Paste Magazine.
  50. Moore, Bobby (July 24, 2019). "Watch Tyler Childers' Mind-Bending New Video for 'All Your'n'". Wide Open Country. Wide Open Media Group.
  51. Bjorke, Matt (January 7, 2020). "Top 30 Digital Country Songs Chart: January 7, 2020". Rough Stock. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  52. "Video: Tyler Childers - Whitehouse Road". The Herald-Dispatch. August 1, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  53. "Tyler Childers trips out in video for "All Your'n"". Lab.fm. July 24, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  54. Hudak, Joseph (July 10, 2020). "Tyler Childers Gets Animated, Drops Easter Eggs in Colorful 'Country Squire' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  55. "2020 GRAMMY Awards: Complete Nominees List". GRAMMY.com. 2019-11-18. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
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