Tyler Childers August 11

‍Tyler Childers grew up in Lawrence County, Kentucky, with a father in the coal industry and a mother who worked as a nurse. As a boy, he sang for his Free Will Baptist Church congregation and learned a few chords on a guitar given to him by his grandfather. He absorbed the classic rock his father liked, along with country artists of the ‘80s, such as Alabama, Ricky Skaggs, and Hank Williams Jr. He started writing songs at 13 and occasionally played them for friends at parties. At 15, when his grandfather died, Childers turned to bluegrass as a way to remember him.

With this kind of musical versatility even as a teenager, Childers started pursuing weekend gigs, enabling him to get into local bars well before he turned 21. In 2011, he released an independent album, followed by a couple of live EPs, but it wasn’t until Purgatory in 2017 that he garnered international attention.

Recently, Tyler Childers’ global “Mule Pull ’24 Tour” sold-out instantly. The extensive tour includes stops at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, Inglewood’s Kia Forum, Austin’s Moody Center and London’s Eventim Apollo, as well as TWO NIGHTS at Hayden Homes Amphitheater in Bend!

In celebration of the new record, Childers recently spoke with The New York Times, who praises, “His songs with roots in bluegrass, Southern rock and Appalachian tradition have pushed the boundaries of country music and even his own fan base, while cementing him as one of the most successful touring and streaming artists in his field—without the aid of radio,” and continues, “when he sings live, his eyes burn with the ferocity of a preacher, and fans hang on to every word.” Lucky for us, we get two nights with Childers in Bend to soak it all in.