Looking for Kentuckian songwriting sensation Tyler Childers‘ best songs? Look no further.
Childers got his first taste of mainstream radio success with “In Your Love” in late 2023. But he was already a superstar to legions of fans years before that — just a little under the average country fan’s radar.
Born in Lawrence County, Ky. to a coal mining family, Childers took up music as a young teen and released his first album, Bottles and Bibles, at age 19 in 2011. In the years that followed, he and his backing band The Food Stamps began generating buzz as they circulated live music venues in Kentucky and West Virginia.
Purgatory marked his breakout album in 2017. Co-produced by fellow Kentuckian Sturgill Simpson, the project earned Childers widespread attention in the alt-country and Americana formats, as well as Emerging Artist of the Year Award at the Americana Music Honors & Awards ceremony in 2018.
Read More: Tyler Childers’ “In Your Love” Is All Sincerity, No Schmaltz
When he accepted that Americana Honors award, Childers used his time onstage to criticize the term “Americana,” saying he identified “as a country music singer” and said that dividing the music into sub-genres “is a distraction from the issues that we’re facing on a bigger level as country music singers.”
Nodding to his hit album, he added, “it kinda feels like purgatory.”
Shape-shifting, reframing and recontextualizing his style of music have all been hallmarks of Childers’ career to date; his discography pivots from tender love songs to gospel to traditional fiddle tunes to a stark condemnation of racism. His songs subvert expectations and shrug off nicknames like “The King of Alt-Country,” and despite a fervently passionate fanbase, Childers leads a relatively private life, appearing in public only rarely with his wife, fellow artist Senora May, and young child, whom he keeps out of the public eye.
Through all his musical evolutions, Childers’ distinctive voice and one-of-a-kind songwriting style are through lines. His best songs are evocative, intense and firmly rooted in rural Appalachian musical traditions.
Keep reading for a roundup of songs that serve as a primer to Childers’ music, and a solid starting point for any new fan hoping to learn more about this buzzy singer-songwriter.
Looking to dig into the world of Tyler Childers? Look no further. This list is a 10-song primer on the Americana sensation’s catalog, from his early-career favorites to his new hits.
If you’ve been meaning to see what all the hype is about with the red-haired songwriting whiz from Kentucky, flip through this list to see what songs you should listen to first.
Gallery Credit: Carena Liptak
The opioid crisis has ravaged lives across the United States — and beyond — so it’s no surprise that there are several country stars who’ve been affected by the issue.
Some of the hardest-hit areas include Appalachian regions like West Virginia and Kentucky. Several singers on this list hail from those areas, and they’ve seen first-hand how opioid addiction has impacted their home communities.
But addiction can touch anyone, in any walk of life. The far-reaching impact of the opioid epidemic is reflected in these songs, which speak from the perspectives of all kinds of people, in all kinds of situations.
Gallery Credit: Carena Liptak