Years long ago, Tyler Grant jammed in high-school bands in and around San Diego, studied classical guitar at Grossmont College and CalArts, and played with the Grateful Dead-inspired Electric Waste Band long enough to earn a ticket into the San Diego Music Hall of Fame. But his life was changed when he discovered flatpicking guitarists Tony Rice and David Grier. “It was a revelation,” he recalls in the Flatpicker press released. “These players were performing bluegrass music on a classical level. I decided to take my classical training and 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.”
The journey led to Nashville, where he supported such artists as Abigail Washburn and April Verch, and then to Colorado with Leftover Salmon’s Drew Emmitt’s eponymous band, which evolved into the Emmitt-Nershi Band once the String Cheese Incident’s Bill Nershi joined the fold. In 2010, he formed the “jamgrass” group Grant Farm and, over the next decade, released five acclaimed albums and toured, toured, toured—until the pandemic upended everything.
For Grant, the downturn meant a shift to livestream “concerts” and online guitar workshops—and joining Adrift Dinosaur, a whitewater rafting outfit, as a river guide. That outdoor experience informs much of Flatpicker, his latest solo venture, which also finds him navigating the river of time. Some tracks are instrumentals, while others feature his pleasing vocals. He’s supported throughout by Andy Thorn on banjo, Dylan McCarthy on mandolin, and Andy Reiner on violin, while Adrian “Ace” Engfer (bass, harmonies), Erin Youngberg (harmonies), and Michael Daves (harmonies) also lend a hand.
The opening “The Wedge,” a short instrumental, features a classical motif inspired by he San Rafael River’s canyon landscape, while “Been Away Too Long” is part touring musician’s diary, part warm memories of days gone by. “Goat Canyon Trestle” is a history song about the famed “Impossible Railroad” that connected San Diego to the eastern U.S. The instrumental “Canyon Flatpicking” employs the self-accompaniment style known as “crosspicking” to create a sonic picture of a river canyon. “Turn the Page” is not the Bob Seger song, but inspired by both a Baja California excursion—and the book of love he hopes to pen with his partner. “Sea of Cortez,” meanwhile, is a flatpicking jaunt he wrote on the same Baja California trip. “Orange Street,” which he deems a “therapy song,” gives voice to the hidden histories that impact too many families. The fiery “Coming Home to Stay,” which features Andy Reiner’s flying fiddle, finds Grant fed up with the road and longing to have a home to call his own.
“Waning Moon” slows the tempo while spinning a tale of unrequited love. The jaunty “Tuk-Tuk” instrumental, meanwhile, revisits his 2024 tour through India with the Bluegrass Journeymen, which found him taken by the motorized rickshaws used as taxis in many cities. “Depot Guitar,” on the other hand, returns to the western U.S.—Salt Lake City, to be specific; it’s a sweet piece dedicated to folk guitarist Norman Blake. Another “therapy song,” “The Beholder,” follows; it finds Grant singing about days long past and how the memories that last take on new significance the older we become. The album comes to a close with “Where The Ocotillo Grows,” a bouncy tune accented by Dylan McCarthy’s mandolin.
All in all, Flatpicker is a wonderful set sure to perk the ears of all bluegrass enthusiasts. It’ll be available to stream from the usual suspects this Friday, March 28, and can be purchased from Grant’s online store.
The Old Grey Cat 