LISTEN TO BOOTH’S KEEP IT REAL EP HERE
Today, Kentucky-born songsmith Tyler Booth released his Keep It Real EP. Listen here.
The project highlights Booth’s smooth, baritone voice, which American Songwriter calls the “Platonic Ideal of a country voice. It’s rich, full, low and powerful. Like a shot of brown liquor.” Keep It Real features recently released tracks “G.O.B. by the G.O.G,” “Different Kind Of Blue,” and “Bring On The Neon,” which he co-penned with Jamey Johnson and Jeremy Popoff. MusicRow lauded “Bring On The Neon,” calling it “Superb. This instant-classic country weeper simmers in piano and steel while Booth’s always-awesome baritone delivers the emotional goods. Regret and heartache have seldom sounded better.”
Booth grew up in the hills of Eastern Kentucky in a town called Campton, which is home to less than 500 people and nestled up to the Red River Gorge. His upbringing is the fabric of who Booth is today and contributes to his resolute values and a work ethic that won’t quit. The singer shared that the distinctive style of music born in Appalachia trickles into his own songs, since it’s part of who he is. Booth said, “A lot of the music I make has been inspired by Appalachia. There are so many great artists from there: Dwight Yoakam, Keith Whitley, the Judds, Sturgill Simpson.” When recording his Keep It Real EP, Booth even played mandolin on several tracks. “Mandolin is an instrument I grew up around. I had a cousin who played mandolin for Keith Whitley, and I just thought it was so awesome. It’s cool that it traces back to where I come from in East Kentucky, and it’s a full circle thing that it fits into my new music so well.”
A lover of all kinds of music, the singer pulls inspiration from new and old sounds as well as other types of music. Booth noted that he finds himself creating sounds that parallel old blues music like BB King, as well as Texas country. “Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker – all the guys out from Texas – all that stuff has always influenced me.” He chose to record his new tunes with producer Beau Bedford in Dallas, who Booth was drawn to from his work with Paul Cauthen. “His music feels like something I’ve never heard before but very familiar at the same time.” When writing songs for the EP, Booth noted that, “Whether it’s the blues, or the old country, or the Texas country, or the bluegrass…every now and then one of those things will sneak up in a song I’m writing and show itself and I’m like, ‘Ok I know where that came from.’ It’s not a forced thing…it’s just who I am.”
When creating his Keep It Real EP, Booth leaned into who he is at his core, allowing that to light the way. “I’ve been circling around myself as an artist and a songwriter for so long, and now I feel like I’ve found my voice in songwriting and singing and I think it comes from writing so many songs, and writing so many of them by myself so they’re completely true to me. Then getting to perform them live and see what the crowds react to has been incredible.” The road warrior is currently touring with Jake Owen and has recently shared stages with acts such as Brooks & Dunn, Darius Rucker, Dwight Yoakam, and Cody Johnson, perfecting his commanding and electric stage presence on stages across the country. “It’s always cool for me to watch artists I look up to grow in their music and evolve. With this new music, I feel like I’ve moved on to another stage myself, which is a very cool thing and makes me really excited to share what I’ve been working on with the world.”
Photo credit: Matthew Berinato
About Tyler Booth:
Road warrior, songsmith, and proud Kentucky native Tyler Booth has been making a name for himself in country music since he first started playing festivals around his home state as a high schooler. Born and raised in Wolfe County, Kentucky, he grew up in a musical family, often sitting in on the rehearsals of his dad’s rock band. After enrolling in Morehead State University’s Traditional Music Studies program, he quickly caught the attention of one of his professors, Scott Miller, an old friend of songwriter Phil O’Donnell (George Strait, Craig Morgan). After Miller made the connection, O’Donnell invited Booth to Nashville, where the two cut his first EP, Self-Titled, released independently in 2017. A couple years later he was featured on legendary duo Brooks and Dunn’s country swing-style ballad, “Lost and Found” on their REBOOT album, and then in 2021 he released his own Grab the Reins EP. Booth has recently toured across the country on his headlining “Real Real Country Tour,” and shared stages with artists such as Darius Rucker, Jon Pardi, Brooks and Dunn, and Cody Johnson. He’s currently opening for Jake Owen’s “Loose Cannon Tour” through the fall. The entertainer has gained a loyal fanbase through his extensive touring and is also backed by his over 1.1M+ followers on social media. CMT described Booth as, “a country traditionalist with an impressive knack for storytelling” while American Songwriter deemed him, “An outlaw with the baritone voice, an endearing smile and a flowing mullet,” who “just might prove to be a breath of fresh country air in a world of far too perfectly coifed and filtered country superstars.” Booth will release his Keep It Real EP on September 15.