The list of uber-talented musicians hailing from Kentucky is quite the expansive one. From Keith Whitley to Chris Stapleton to Tyler Childers and beyond, there’s a deep well of talent coming from The Bluegrass State.
Pikeville native Tyler Booth is on that list as well. Booth was making waves in Nashville for several years before returning to Kentucky to reconnect with his roots. The result? A fantastic, bare-bones EP, Downtown, that puts his strong baritone voice and stories front and center. The self-produced project is raw, vulnerable, and most importantly, it’s 100% Tyler Booth.
We chatted with Booth all about Downtown, staying active, his favorite Keith Whitley songs and more!
Pro Country: Since leaving your record deal with Sony in 2023, you’ve continued a steady release schedule. How important has it been for you to stay busy with releases and keep offering new music for your fans?
Tyler Booth: It’s been awesome. Nowadays, it’s really up to the artist. Record labels are great, but I don’t feel like they’re as vital as they used to be. With social media, I can get on there and share a song and see what the fanbase thinks about it. It’s been a great way to do this. Nothing’s really stopped for me; I’ve just kept at it.
PC: Your new EP, Downtown, features a more largely-stripped back approach and draws inspiration from Kentucky natives like Keith Whitley, Tyler Childers and Chris Stapleton. Why was it the right time in your career to lean into a more bluegrass/singer-songwriter sound on the EP and to present the music in that raw way?
TB: I’ve always written that way. When I came to Nashville, I wrote some great songs, and I felt like it was time for me to get back to what I grew up and started on. That’s the music I really like the most. If there’s a song that sticks out to me, I’ll go in the studio, put it down and put it out. These songs have bare minimum, track wise: mostly just drums, guitar, mandolin, vocals and bass. That’s what I grew up on, so it feels good to pull it back to that.
PC: To that point, you’ve said that there’s a few songs on Downtown that are just yourself and a guitar. How vulnerable is it recording music that way?
TB: It’s pretty scary. “Sunshine” and “Home Up Yonder” were that way. I had three or four songs that I’d written by myself. I was going in to demo so I could have them and share them with people. I went in, played and sang them in one take, and to me, they sounded good. We mixed them, mastered them, and that’s what’s on the EP. They caught the ear of some of the people I share my music with. To me, that meant it was done [laughs].
PC: You kicked off Downtown by releasing “Talkin’ White Trash” in April. Why did you feel that “Talkin’ White Trash” was the right song to kick off the project and to release first?
TB: That one’s fun! I love the blues element in it and the attitude the song has. A lot of people have said that it reminds them of Travis Tritt and some bluesy southern rock. I wrote it with Terry Lee Palmer, who plays guitar for Jon Pardi. That was the first song we wrote together. And the second song we wrote together, he cut, so we’re two for two! [laughs].
PC: In just over two months since its release, “Talkin’ White Trash” has already earned nearly 200,000 streams on Spotify alone. How encouraging has the response to “Talkin’ White Trash” been out of the gate?
TB: It’s been awesome. I moved back home to east Kentucky, and the whole project feels like home to me. I went back to regroup, and I’ve gotten a lot of great feedback, even from people I run into up the road. I’m loving it, and I’m so glad people are loving it as much as I do.
PC: “Bluegrass on My Mind” is our favorite song on Downtown. Can you take us in the room and talk about how the song came together?
TB: I remember the day I wrote it. I had a co-write at Warner/Chappell with a few guys. We wrote a good song that day, but I’d pitched “Bluegrass on My Mind” to them. It was a slow song that nobody really bit on, so I figured I’d wait until everyone left and I’d write it myself [laughs]. I sat in a room at Warner/Chappell for three or four hours and came up with that song. It’s one of my favorite songs.
PC: The penultimate track on Downtown is a cover of “Freeborn Man.” What drew you to record the song yourself and why do you feel it fit so well on the project?
TB: I’ve always loved bluegrass music. When I went to college, there were a lot of good flat pickers and mandolin players. That’s how I got started. I love Tony Rice’s version of the song. He’s always been a favorite of mine, and I thought it’d be cool to try something different.
PC: Downtown closes with “Home Up Yonder,” a fantastic, faith-based song. On an EP that sees you re-connecting with your roots in a way, how important was it to include a song about your faith on the EP?
TB: I love that song. I went into the studio, and I thought it was just going to be a demo. There was a microphone, and a microphone on my guitar, and I just laid it down. I loved how it sounded. It’s one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written. I almost pitched it to Jamey Johnson. Who knows if he would’ve cut it or not, but it reminded me of something he would record. The song felt like me, though, so I decided to release it myself.
PC: You serve as a co-producer on Downtown for the first time in an official capacity. How important was it for you to take a more hands-on approach on this project and to fill that role?
TB: It was awesome. I’d always had a hand in every song I released and had an idea of what I wanted it to be, but for this project, I went into the studio with songs I really liked, and it was all about getting guys who would come in and play on them [laughs]. I got some strong pickers on there, and it was so much fun. I felt like I was more involved this time with creating the tracks. It was cool to watch it unfold the way it did.
PC: What do you hope listeners take away from Downtown after listening all the way through?
TB: I hope when they hear it, they find it reminiscent of an older style of music, but I also hope that it finds its own lane. I hope it shows that I have something new to bring to the table. Most of the songs I’ve written in the last year or two come from the Americana/bluegrass vein, and I’ve got plenty more songs that I can go in and record. I hope they like it.
PC: On a project that sees you reconnecting with your roots and mentioning Keith Whitley, we’ll put you on the spot: can you give us a few of your favorite Keith Whitley songs?
TB: I love “I’m Over You.” That song is so graceful. The guitar parts are crazy. “I’m No Stranger to the Rain” is another one of my favorites. His vocal on that is great. He was amazing.
PC: With Downtown now released, what do you have planned for the rest of 2025?
TB: I’ve got some cool stuff coming up! I have three EP release nights: one in Nashville, one south of Nashville and one back home in Lexington. I’m excited to launch this music and see what everybody thinks about it.
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