Tyler Childers

Timothy Tyler Childers was born on June 21, 1991, in Lawrence County, Kentucky. His early life was shaped by his father’s work in the coal industry and his mother’s profession as a nurse. Born with clubfoot, Childers underwent multiple surgeries in his early childhood. He discovered his musical talent singing in his church choir and began playing guitar and writing songs at the age of 13. He attended Lawrence County High School and later Paintsville High School, graduating in 2009. After briefly attending Western Kentucky University and Bluegrass Community and Technical College, Childers left academia to pursue a music career, working odd jobs while performing in Lexington, Kentucky, and Huntington, West Virginia.

Childers released his first album, “Bottles and Bibles,” in 2011 at 19 years old. His career gained significant traction with the 2017 album “Purgatory,” produced by Sturgill Simpson and David Ferguson, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart and earned him an Americana Music Award for Emerging Artist of the Year. He followed this success with “Country Squire” in 2019, which featured the Grammy-nominated single “All Your’n.” In 2020, Childers released “Long Violent History,” an album primarily composed of traditional fiddle tracks, with its title track addressing social issues. Profits from this album benefited the Hickman Holler Appalachian Relief Fund, established by Childers and his wife, Senora May, to support underserved Appalachian communities.

His artistic evolution continued with the 2022 triple album “Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?,” which charted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200. In 2023, he released “Rustin’ in the Rain” and its lead single “In Your Love,” which visually explored a gay relationship among coal miners and became his first top 10 hit on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, earning multiple Grammy nominations. Childers contributed to the “Cardinals At The Window” benefit album in 2024 and released his seventh studio album, “Snipe Hunter,” in 2025, blending Appalachian music with experimental rock, psychedelia, and gospel themes.