If you checked out any of my pandemic playlists, you'll definitely have seen the name 'Tyler Braden' come up time and time again. With raw, emotive lyrics and an unbeatable voice, he's certainly one to watch. I was thrilled to sit down and chat with Tyler - read on to find out more about his upcoming trip to the UK, artists he thinks you should know, and a sneak peek into his new EP.
Ciara’s Country (CC): I am delighted to be joined today by the man behind songs like Secret and Try Losing One which have made their way onto my playlists time and time again - Tyler Braden! Tyler, thank you so much for joining me.
Tyler Braden (TB): Thank you for having me!
CC: We're speaking just ahead of your trip to the UK for the 10th annual C2C Country 2 Country music festival. How are you feeling about that?
TB: I'm so excited, you have no idea. I've never been overseas, and we're just excited to come over there, play some music, and have a good time.
CC: This’ll be your first time visiting the UK - is there anything that you're particularly looking forward to doing while you're here?
TB: As a tourist, the sights of course! But I’m also super excited to meet new fans. I get people messaging me all the time that they're very excited for C2C and we've been wanting to be a part of it for a couple of years now. That's the most exciting part - finally getting to come over and play some music.
CC: How do you think UK fans are going to compare with your US fans?
TB: I think that the excitement is going to be even higher because it's so rare for us to get over there and play. I think the fans are going to be ready to party!
CC: Well with this being the 10th anniversary of C2C, I can tell you we are definitely ready to celebrate! This will be your first set of shows for fans this side of the pond so I reckon there'll be a lot of excitement from our end too. What can we expect from a Tyler Braden set?
TB: While we're over there, we'll actually be doing a ‘guitar pool’ kind of set to where me and a couple of others are on stage playing acoustically. We'll play a couple songs, tell some stories about them. It'll be fun, I like that style.
CC: Indeed, you’ll be taking to the Main Stage as part of the CMA Introducing Nashville performance alongside some of my other favourites: Alana Springsteen and Caylee Hammack. What are the moments just before you step on a stage like?
TB: A funny thing about me is that right before I go on stage, I just start yawning! I don't normally feel nervous but it’s just an involuntary thing and people mess with me about it all the time saying ‘You better wake up, you're ready to go on stage!’ But I’m not tired or anything, it’s just what my body does.
CC: I’ve never heard that before, what an interesting pre-show habit! So you’ll be part of the Introducing Nashville segment of C2C, and one of my favourite things about festivals like this is that they help me discover amazing new artists. I also really like to ask the artists themselves who they think the Next Big Thing is so Tyler, are there any underrated artists out there that you think everyone should be listening to?
TB: Oh, gosh, there's so many! Nashville is full of so much talent. I mean, he's already successful but I have to point out Nate Smith. He's one of the nicest people you can ever meet, from top to bottom, he's so appreciative of everything. It's so hard to find people that seem generally grateful for what they have, the success they have, the fans they have, and Nate definitely does. I hope I come across as half as grateful as Nate Smith does! I hope he continues to grow and do his big thing.
CC: Nate Smith! I love his song Wildfire.
TB: Yeah, that’s a good one!
CC: I would love to see a Tyler Braden / Nate Smith duet someday, because you are two of the most powerful voices in up and coming country at the moment.
TB: Thank you so much! You know, it could happen.
CC: Not only do you have C2C coming up, but also the launch of your new EP Neon Grave. I can't tell you how excited I am about that release - what's been the process of putting this EP together?
TB: It was really hard to pick all the songs that would go on it, but I think we ended up with a good group of songs that all have their own emotional value. There are some really upbeat songs and some that show the direction that we're stepping in with more of a rock influence. That's definitely my background – my first bands were rock bands. There are songs on there that have their own relatability in different ways. I think it's just going to be a proper up and down of emotions and a ride all the way through the EP. There are six tracks - two versions of Try Losing One, including the original and the duet version, Neon Grave that we've already put out, and three brand new songs.
CC: What a tracklist! I love that you’re including both versions of Try Losing One – I’m a big fan of Sydney Sierota and Echosmith too - how did you get Sydney involved on the duet version?
TB: Actually Echosmith and I are under the same management, so my management knew about Sydney's desire to move more into the country space. I thought her style would fit the song well, so we asked her what parts of the song she wanted to sing, and she did all the vocals at her studio in California. She ran with like her own slightly alternate melody and it just worked out so well. She's so talented. We shot a music video with her and got to perform it live in LA. It’s been a great experience since the beginning.
CC: I wouldn’t be mad if you brought her on stage at C2C with you!
TB: Haha, that would be great!
The fun's not over yet - we had so much more to catch up on, so make sure you stay tuned here and on @CiarasCountry to be the first to know when Part 2 drops!
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