District 142

Tyler Rich has spent most of his life surrounded by music. While the Yuba City native grew up listening to country with his mother in their small farming community in Northern California, his uncle instilled apassion for music. At every family party, Tyler’s Uncle Tim brought aguitar and played alongside his college friends.

The country singer-songwriter’s dream from a young age was to learnguitar and play with his uncle. By the time Tyler was 15, that dream came true, and he was “fully jamming with them” and began writing songs. After college, Tyler moved to Los Angeles and connected with songwriter-producer Darrell Brown (Keith Urban, LeAnn Rimes) and production and songwriting team The Monsters & Strangerz. For three months, he wrote songs,and The Monsters & Strangerz critiqued them.

“It was one of the most useful moments of my entire musical journey,” Tyler says of their mentorship.

Through The Monsters & Strangerz, Tyler connected with another group of songwriter-producers. When the team asked about the music he wanted to make, Tyler explained that he grew up playing, loving, and listening to country with his mom. For the first time in his career, the songs he was writing were acoustic, guitar-driven. The team decided to record three songs, and the first Tyler released as a solo artist was “Radio.” The nostalgic breakup song’s success led to opening slots for Cole Swindell, Dan + Shay, and Sam Hunt. Soon, Nashville came calling, and Tyler relocated to Music City in 2015.

One way to Nashville, life packed up
Everything I ever owned coming off of that truck
“Whiskey Go Bad”

A publishing and record deal came one and a half years later. Along the way, Tyler notched three No. 1 hits on SiriusXM’s The Highway from his debut album, Two Thousand Miles, and amassed over half a billion global streams. Those No. 1 singles–RIAA gold-certified “The Difference” and “Leave Her Wild,” as well as viral hit “Better Than You’re Used To”–put Tyler on the map as an engaging songwriter with a unique country-rock flair.

Now an independent artist, Tyler is taking full advantage of his newfound creative freedom, leading up to his sophomore album, Poppy & Iris Deluxe. In March, the singer released “Side A” from his forthcoming 22-song album. Titled Hello California, the 10-track preview includes songs he previously shared with his former label team and received a positive response. He then created a Google form with snippets of 30 songs and crowdsourced fans, family, and friends, and tallied up their favorite 12 songs.

The project kicks off with the sunny “Hello California.” With elements of country and rock, “Hello California” blends all of Tyler’s musical influences. Alongside ear-grabbing guitar riffs and infectious woah-oh-oh’s combined with vivid lyrics and his warm vocals, the track is a memorable introduction. Many of the songs throughout the project urge the listener to live in the moment. One track, “Whiskey Go Bad,” Tyler describes as “Dropkick Murphys country.”

Tyler has evolved into a bold and driven artist over the past decade since he left California. Now he’s calling the shots on his career and already planning his third album. “I’m having fun playing music again,” he says. “These were all the songs I had been writing about real-life stuff and real things I was going through. We’ve created something that’s so cool and so me.”

Tyler’s sophomore album sets the stage for his next chapter as an artist who knows himself and as someone who embraces all life offers. All the while, he inspireslisteners to do the same.