Less than a decade ago, country music artist Tyler Braden was balancing his career as a firefighter in Alabama and his passion of performing music. Now, Tyler is moving his way up in the world of country music and proving that all it takes is perseverance to achieve your dreams.
After a gig in the country music capital of Nashville, Tyler made the move there in 2016 to hone the art of songwriting and performing. His career really took off when he played his first date at the homegrown Whiskey Jam concert series in January 2017.
Tyler had his first country radio breakout hit in 2021 with his EP “Try Losing One” from his debut project, What Do They Know. The song climbed to the top of SiriusXM’s The Highway Hot 30 Countdown and reached 40 million global streams and counting.
Tyler began touring with other country music artists: Brantley Gilbert, Brooks & Dunn, Chris Stapleton, Dierks Bentley, Mitchell Tenpenny and Luke Bryan. For the past two years, Tyler has been invited to perform on the CMA stage and made his Grand Ole Opry debut in 2022.
In September of 2023, Tyler released the song “Friends” which was a big hit on country radio and a precursor to his 2024 Real Friends Tour. The tour will begin in March and include 17 stops in major cities throughout the U.S. through May 4th, and will include performances in Australia for the CMC Rocks QLD music festival. Tickets for the Real Friends Tour are on sale now.
We had the pleasure of talking with Tyler a few months ago. We reminisced over his wedding at Joshua Tree, what a perfect day in Montgomery, Alabama looks like, and what sports he enjoys keeping up with.
Your wife told me you guys got married at Joshua Tree and that you love it out there. Can you tell me more about that?
We’ve been there like, three Aprils in a row now. We try to go out there once a year if we can, and see it. It’s beautiful. It’s like one of the first times that I really felt like I was getting out there and seeing the world when we saw the trees there, just saw how different it is. I’m from Alabama, so it’s obviously very different, but we definitely love it out there.
What does a perfect day in your hometown of Montgomery, Alabama your look like?
Probably just going to the lake, you know, hanging out. There’s a lake down there called Lake Jordan that I lived on. Just going out there having fun with friends and fishing a little bit.
Do you have any favorite CMA memories or songs?
The 2023 CMA’s was my favorite. We played Riverfront Stage for the very first time. That was amazing. We got to play Ascend Amphitheater in 2022. That was awesome as well. There’s a lot of good memories and hopefully we’ll make a lot more.
Favorite things to do in Nashville?
I love eating sushi at Koi Sushi & Thai in East Nashville. I also like Taco Mamacita. There are great restaurants in town. You know, I’ve never been a huge go out and party person, but I love good food. So, there’s a lot of that in Nashville, for sure. I go to the Sounds games and Titans games. There’s a lot of good sports around.
You love the Titans. Who’s your favorite player?
Nowadays it’s gotta be Derrick Henry. I’m a huge Alabama fan and Derrick Henry went to Alabama. I didn’t go to Alabama but I’m still a huge Alabama fan. I always try to give people respect that actually went to the school.