Tyler Childers knows the problem with country music. According to Childers, it's country music's single-mindedness that is ultimately leading to its downfall.
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When Childers accepted the Emerging Artist of the Year trophy at the 2018 Americana Awards, Childers used his time to shed some light on what he believes has gone horribly wrong with the genre.
"Americana ain't no part of nothing," he said at the time. "It is a distraction from the issues that we are facing on a bigger level as country music singers."
Later, Childers expounded on his passionate speech, and the changes he believes need to be made. According to Childers, Americana began as "a place to recognize people being ignored by their own genres, but now it's a hindrance," he tells The Guardian. "The stuff we used to call 'good country' is now getting called Americana. We've not fixed the problem of bad country."
"The problem with country is we've turned the props into the play," he continues. "Let's not just Solo cup and pickup truck it to death. Let's handle this in a smart way. Nobody is thinking about lyrical content, or how we're moving people, or what's going on in the background of their minds."
How Tyler Childers Manages To Defy Genres
Childers might have strong feelings about Americana and country music, but he remains in a league all his own. The Kentucky native grew up listening to artists like Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Alabama records. He later evolved into artists like Bob Dylan and Jack Kerouac. Church music was also part of the soundtrack of his younger years.
Together, it all combined to inspire Childers to make his own music, his own way.
"It was like, why am I trying to find my voice?" Childers reflects. "I am blessed to be in a place that has its own."
Childers is innovative, but he's also generous. Childers has been quietly helping Blackfeet programs, without much fanfare, as a way to give to a community he cares about deeply. He also stopped playing his hit song, "Feathered Indians," after becoming friends with Shawn Old Chief.
"If there's conversation amongst those individuals about whether they should be using that word or not, then it ain't for me to be using. It's not mine," Childers tells GQ.
