Tyler Grant grew up in the sagebrush hills of Southern California. As a teen, he was taken by music & followed this calling to the University, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). A rocker by nature (his early tenure in the Electric Waste Band earned him a spot in the San Diego Music Hall of Fame), Tyler was pursuing the Classical path when he discovered Flatpicking guitarists Tony Rice & David Grier. “It was a revelation. These players were performing Bluegrass Music on a Classical level. I decided to take my classical training & apply it to mastering the Flatpicking style of guitar. It was not only an exciting, community-driven style of music, but there was a cultural connection there. I knew I had an opportunity to excel in this genre.”
Shortly after graduation, Tyler moved to Nashville, where he spent years touring with Abigail Washburn, Adrienne Young & Little Sadie, and April Verch, before getting the call to join the Drew Emmitt Band (co-founder of Leftover Salmon), which subsequently evolved into the Emmitt-Nershi Band (featuring Bill Nershi, of The String Cheese Incident). These Colorado-based acts lured the Flatpicker to the Rocky Mountains, where he has lived since 2009. In 2010, Tyler founded the Cosmic Americana band Grant Farm, which toured steadily & released five albums before the “Great Pause” of 2020 forced an indefinite hiatus and a significant Pandemic Pivot.