The Beginning:

Recently we got to catch up with singer-songwriter, Tyler Braden. The Warner Music Nashville recording artist spoke candidly about his journey to country music, weaving in his unique experiences throughout.

The Alabama native grew up around music but never dreamed of it becoming his career. “My parents, my aunts, my uncles, everyone in my family pretty much sang,” he tells us. Adding later, “One of my uncles is a full-blown Elvis [Presley] impersonator.” It was clear to us that music was just something in Braden’s blood from an early age.

As a kid, Braden would sing in church and sing at family parties. However, it was not until after high school that he started giving music a real shot. At nineteen, the singer played in a rock cover band, singing songs by artists like Three Days Grace and Breaking Benjamin. Although rock seems like a far cry from country music, the singer maintains that he was exposed to many different genres growing up.

Braden was a huge fan of artists like Boyz II Men, The Chicks, Kenny Chesney, and even the Foo Fighters. Despite his eclectic music taste, country music was his first love. “I was always a bigger fan of country,” shared Braden, “Like leaving shows and leaving practices, I was still always listening to country in my truck.

After encouragement by a friend, the singer entered himself in a local contest. Ultimately winning, the artist won his first trip to Nashville for a recording session. He credits that experience for instilling in him a desire to move to Music City to pursue his real dream. 

“I actually had a buddy of mine that made the trip to Nashville,” shared the singer. “He said man you kinda gotta be here if you want to have a shot. So I just kind of took a shot in the dark by trying to move up here.”

The Turning Point:

Taking the plunge, Braden moved from Alabama to Nashville, Tennessee. At first, the singer worked as a firefighter and a first responder to make ends meet in the new city. The singer recalls playing shows and gigs all over Nashville to hone his craft even more. The singer began co-writing for the first time with other songwriters in the industry and really learned to appreciate everything that goes into making music.

Eventually, the singer garnered more and more success and his buddies at work began to cover for him. “About the last six months of the fire service, the careers started to overlap. […] So many guys at the station were stepping up and working in my place to allow me to chase this whole thing.” The humans he worked with allowed him to chase his dreams, something he is eternally grateful for. Ultimately, Braden’s hard work paid off! The entertainer signed a record and publishing deal with Warner Music Nashville.

Today:

Flash forward to today, the singer is releasing music under his new label home. Back in March 2020, Braden released a cover of the song “Brother.” The song pays homage to his friends at his old job, as well as, all the other heroes in the world. Although not planning on making it his debut single, it felt like the right timing and the right song.

“When everything shut down, and you saw how firefighters, police officers, nurses, doctors, and everyone started working twice as much, twice as hard, while most of us started working from home then it just seemed like the time,” he said about recording and releasing the song. “They needed some sort of thank you and some sort of appreciation they deserved.”

Most recently, the singer released his song “What Do They Know.” Co-written by Braden, the song became one of those songs that the singer kept going back to. “The song stuck with me and I changed some things and I changed some lyrics here and there, and I added a bridge and just made it even more true to myself and my story,” he shared. “The more we played it live and the more I sang the words and realized how true they were and how true they could be to a lot of people, it really started to mean more and more and more to me.”

The song is the perfect combination of all of Braden’s rock and country influences, something that is truly a staple in his artistry. “That’s kinda rolled over into songwriting and the performance aspect of my career today, the rock backgrounds the rock influences, every time I’m writing I’m thinking how will this look live.”

Fans can look forward to even more music by the artist this year. The next single, “Ways to Miss You” is slated to be released later this month. The music video is even being filmed in Downtown Nashville, as a live show later this week. Braden also hints at a possible EP. At this rate, anything is possible for the newcomer. Regardless, it’s safe to say that we will be hearing more from the singer-songwriter soon enough!

Connect:

To keep up with Tyler Braden, follow him on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

“What Do They Know” is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.