Tyler-James Kelly makes 1970s-inspired country music for the modern world. It's a warm, lived-in sound, created by a longtime songwriter who's happy to be a torchbearer for the music that's always inspired him. A guitarist since the age of 10, he grew up listening to honky-tonk pickers and top-shelf songwriters, falling in love with artists like Hank Williams, Jerry Reed, Robert Johnson, George Jones, and Jim Croce. He also developed a taste for the storytellers of the 1970s, including Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, Don Williams, and Guy Clark. "There's this joke that my parents used to say, which is, 'Tyler walked into a corn maze in 1975, and he just came out now,'" Kelly says. "And I was born in 1988! I grew up at my Nanna's house, though, and I was raised with a lot of old antiques and records. Other kids had CDs; I had 45s and 8-tracks." Kelly's appreciation for the old stuff — vintage tones, timeless songwriting, analog production — is on full display with Dream River, an album that turns classic ingredients into something contemporary. Hailed by Rolling Stone as a "deft chicken-pickin' guitarist" with a "head-turner" live show, Tyler-James Kelly sees Dream River as more than just an introduction to his solo career. He views the album as a part of something much bigger. It's a celebration of the music that's inspired generations of songwriters, pickers, and fans, performed by a songwriter who's happy to wear his influences on his sleeve.

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