Beyond Listworthy: Tyler Rich (@tylerrichmusic / #TylerRich #MySpellbreaker)

Tyler Rich photo by Matt Misisco
photo by Matt Misisco

name: Tyler Rich
DOB: 24 February 19xx
height: 6’
degree of separation: 0
my list or yours: mine
First sighting: March 2015 or so
First meeting: April 30, 2015

So, “beyond listworthy.” This is a new designation for me and I think one I’ll not likely use again. Yes, Tyler Rich is that special to me.

Tyler is a singer/songwriter from the Sacramento area of Northern California. He grew up in Yuba City, went to college in Sacramento, lived awhile in Southern California and recently moved to Nashville. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting him a few times and he’s always sweet and gracious and approachable. He’s also a very talented musician with great social media savvy.

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My country music loving reawakening this year began with Sam Hunt. He was pretty relentless with me and his music was all I listened to for a couple of months. I’d post screenshots of him and tweet about him and suddenly I’d have different up and coming artists favoriting and liking my posts. Tyler was one of those artists. I was curious enough to check out his profiles and then listen to his music (one song, “Radio”) and I was intrigued.

Online, Tyler is pretty cool. He responds on Twitter, he favorites Instagram posts, and his Snapchat stories are hilarious to watch. He keeps his fans updated on all those fronts as well as on Facebook. I’m easy so I have delighted with every favorite or like and definitely swooned a bit at actual responses. Even now, I still giggle a bit when I get a response of any kind from him.

The day after Sam Hunt didn’t win the Academy of Country Music Award for New Artist of the Year (but Cole Swindell did), we were sitting in the bar thinking about when to watch the new Avengers movie at the end of the month. In a bit of an offhand manner, I suggested going up to Sacramento and seeing Tyler Rich, as he was going to open for Cole Swindell. Hubby said why not and so I bought the tickets on my phone while sitting at the bar (hot damn for technology!).

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the first time we met

Meeting and taking a picture with Tyler that first time was great! But watching him on stage with just him and his guitar, I fell pretty hard. So he wasn’t just a nice smile and a friendly person, he was actually a pretty awesome performer. I LOVED the songs he did that night, especially his originals. This was the first time I was close to the stage (not front row but close enough) and it spoiled me in so many ways. Instead of trying to capture the moment with endless photos or videos, I merely took a few shots and a few videos. I spent most of the time being a rapt audience member.

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I think I thought I would be cool just seeing him once but when I found out he was going to be at the Sacramento Music Festival, I talked enough about it for the hubby to get the day off so we could go. A few days before the festival, I tweeted at Tyler and said something about hoping to get a hug from him and he replied that there was plenty of hugging space. Giddy fangirl me was quite giddy and on impulse, I took pen to paper and wrote Tyler a letter. I took a picture of it and posted it to Instagram, fuzzy for artistic purposes (and privacy!). When I gave him the letter, he looked pleased as punch and even commented that he tried to read it online. Awww, how sweet!

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the second time we met

But seeing him the third time (and I promise, I’m not going to recount every time I’ve seen him) tipped me over in the adoring of him. When he arrived, he came over to say hi to people and we were part of the ones he greeted! I was too happy about that. The show just seemed to be bonus after that. It was a great show and he drank through a lot of it. The awesome thing was that he sounded just as good at the end as he did in the beginning. And our photo op at the end of that night was just peaches and one of my favorite moments (in spite of his drink trickling a bit down my arm).

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I didn’t mind the trickle the third time we met

I have more personal reasons for adoring Tyler but why should you, dear reader, fall for this talented, easy on the eyes and ears singer/songwriter?

Let’s run through my self-made criteria!

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TALENT Yes, Tyler Rich is TALENTED. His songs are part of my daily life and I want MORE. “Radio” was the first song I heard of his and when I heard him sing it live, it was even better. Seeing him perform live was great and a total eye opener on how awesome he is as a performer and artist. He has a strong voice, great skills on the guitar, and just the right amount of dreamy and sass and substance on the stage. Sometimes it hits me that it’s just him and the guitar making all that music and I’m amazed all over again. I’m not sure how I’ll be when I actually see him perform with a band behind him. And lest you think he only sings country music, check out a couple of videos of him online where he is most definitely NOT singing country.

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EDUCATION
A college graduate! See kids, you can follow your dreams and go to college. Do it.

KINDNESS
Tyler has ALWAYS been lovely with me in real life and online. He treats his fans with genuine love and affection and let me tell you, it goes a long way. He takes the time to talk with everyone and gives all his attention in those moments. And he REMEMBERS people! He’s a dog lover (his husky Abby makes appearances on his Snapchat whenever he’s home). Tyler is a total sweetheart in so many ways. And he’s respectful, which is awesome.

SPORTS
Must love a fella for loving my favorite football team (SF 49ers) and hence I give him a pass for liking the SF Giants for baseball. At least he keeps the love in the Bay Area! He gets points too for liking the Notre Dame Irish.

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photo by Matt Misisco

LOOKS Tyler is a handsome man. No denying it. Great teeth for that awesome smile. Nice eyes. And the tattoos are a bit my weakness. I would seriously love to take my time (or his?) and look at all of them. Hey, I could totally use them for one of my stories! All in all, a most pleasing package and you cannot blame the ladies for SEEING him first before hunkering down and actually listening to him. And here’s a story I always like to tell… Tyler is so easy on the eyes that my sister, who lives in Georgia, CALLED ME to tell me that he’s a hottie after seeing my first picture with him. She didn’t email or text, she CALLED. And it wasn’t even the weekend. She was that impressed by just the looks of him. Alas, she’s not a country music fan but she has listened to his non-country stuff, I think. She believes he will be a star.

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Maybe I particularly adore Tyler because he remembers me. Maybe it’s because when I (gently) encouraged him to follow me on twitter, he did. Maybe it’s the fact that he named his EP Valerie (and even though I correctly deduced why he did that, it was still delightful when people thought he named it after me). Or maybe it’s really just the fact that I love listening to him, whether live or not but most especially live.

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check out his EP VALERIE

I know I’m not the only one who finds Tyler adorable and talented but I want more people to discover him. Nothing pleases me more than having someone tell him that they know about him or like him because I’d mentioned him. Spreading the love for Tyler is ever my goal because he is awesome and everyone should know it! So go out there, listen to his music and spread the word. Give him a follow and share in his adventures. And when he’s close enough to see live, GO SEE HIM. Promise, you’ll not regret it!

And Tyler, if you actually read this, what can I say that I haven’t already said and continue to say? You already know I adore you. I hope you don’t think I just like you because you’re a cutie pie (which yes, you are). I love your music and listen every single day. I love that your EP is called Valerie because then our pics together are the living hashtag. I love that you remember me when you see me. And I love that you’re so wonderful to everyone. I’m pretty much in this for the long haul and I hope you are too because you and your music need to be out there!

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Find Tyler online:
tylerrichmusic.com
facebook.com/tylerrichmusic
youtube.com/tylerrichmusic
Twitter – @tylerrichmusic
Instagram – @tylerrich
Snapchat – tylerrichmusic

[photos credited where applicable… other photos are screencaptures from Snapchat and YouTube… photos with me in them belong to me…]