Tyler Braden is many things all at once. The Gold-certified Alabama-born and Nashville-based singer, songwriter, and guitarist is a classic Country troubadour whose storytelling strikes an intimate chord. At the same time, he’s an energetic showman who can rile up a crowd with a blast of electric guitar and a stadium-size singalong. His voice booms with soul, his riffs rock with gusto, and his songwriting teems with truth. That’s why he’s quietly asserted himself as a “country powerhouse,” according to American Songwriter. With just shy of 1 billion career streams, countless sold-out shows in the rearview, and a bright future ahead, he reveals multiple sides of himself on his full- length debut album, devil and a prayer via Warner Music Nashville. “All of the ups and downs, the loud songs and the heartfelt songs, and the energy and the release add up to who I am as an artist,” observes Braden. “I’d love for you to experience the record from front-to-back, but you don’t have to. There’s a lot of depth to it. It shows you who I am.” He took the first step on this journey during his childhood in the tiny community of Slapout, AL. Mom and Dad were always singing, so he followed suit. Old home videos captured Braden on the front porch with a plastic guitar and microphone entertaining friends and family. When his parents performed at parties, he’d belt out “Friends In Low Places” by Garth Brooks, but there was a catch…. “I’d always ask, ‘How much are you going to pay me?’, ” he laughs. He eventually picked up guitar for real, playing at church and jamming with friends. His tastes spanned Country, Rock, and R&B, including Foo Fighters, Matchbox Twenty, Boyz II Men, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, George Jones, and Eric Church. Throughout high school, he transformed into a formidable performer by captivating local crowds with marathon cover gigs. Fast-forward years later, holding down a job as a firefighter, he wrote and recorded at every chance possible. After making his debut with “Little Red Wine,” he gained traction with a series of singles and 2021’s What Do They Know EP. Two years later, he served up the Neon Grave EP highlighted by the standout “Try Losing One,” which catapulted to #1 on SiriusXM The Highway’s Hot 30 Weekend Countdown. However, he really leveled up on 2024’s “DEVIL YOU KNOW.” Not only did the latter eclipse 335 million global streams, but it also earned a Gold certification from the RIAA. Billboard hailed its “automatic authenticity,” going on to attest, “The sound is dangerous.” He notably lit up venues with everyone from Luke Bryan, Brooks & Dunn, and Dierks Bentley to Brothers Osborne, Warren Zeiders, and Darius Rucker. Along the way, he carefully assembled devil and a prayer. Braden made a conscious decision to sequence the LP like a concert, coming in strong, drawing back with an acoustic reprieve, and closing out with a bang.

“I treated it like I was putting together a setlist,” Braden affirms. “It kicks open the door, builds up, and it drops down to the unplugged ‘b stage’. When we play shows, we actually do a couple acoustic tunes. Some days, you’reemotional and need a soft song. Other days, you’re ready to set the world on fire and want a fast and upbeat song. Then, there are times I want to slow it way down and get real. The album hits all of those points.” Fittingly, devil and a prayer opens with the hard-charging “ME OR THE DAWN.” Revved up with robust guitar, he hangs on for dear life during the chorus, “Trying not to take the devil’s deal…Now will I make the sunrise ‘fore I lose my nerve? Guess the only question is who’s gonna break first? Me or the dawn.” On the other end of the spectrum, “CALL ME FIRST” doubles as a reassuring message from a friend. Tackling mental health and pondering what it means to be a man, softly strummed guitar underlines heartfelt words, “I just wanna make sure you know you ain’t gotta be a tough guy alone.” He looks towards the heavens on the upbeat gallop of “MORE THAN A PRAYER,” and he details a Rock ‘n’ Roll romance without comparison on “GOD & GUNS N’ ROSES.” Among other highlights, the single “RIGHT ON TRACK” hinges on a call-and-response between introspective verses and a heavy-handed hook fueled by a rush of guitar, “When it’s all going to hell, like the train’s about to crash, running off the rails, just keep your foot down on the gas.” For Braden, the lyrics deliberately play out like a real-life conversation. “If a song is conversational, you can’t help but listen because it’s like somebody is talking directly to you,” he states. “That’s what I’m trying to do with everything I write, but it really comes through ‘RIGHT ON TRACK.’ It’s relatable because it speaks to so many parts of life. We all do things in a different order, and you can’t look at others and compare yourself to them. You can’t have their path, and they can’t have yours. That’s always been a mantra for me.”Then, there’s “MIGHT BE DANGEROUS” where he duets with Kaitlin Butts. Their voices clash in the best way, mirroring the friction in a wild relationship over a thick bassline and loose slide guitar. “Kaitlin’s voice is smooth and pretty, while mine is rough and scruffy,” he elaborates. “Thematically, it’s the toxic relationship song. Outside sources may tell you, ‘Y’all gotta stop wasting your time; it’s not meant to be’. You’re telling them, ‘I know we’ve been through a lot, but it’s worth it in the end.’ When you have to convince yourself, it’s probably not a good sign,” he laughs. With shuddering acoustic strumming and heart-aching delivery, he introduced the mid-album unplugged suite with “to tell you the truth (b stage).” However, “dear old flame (b stage)” really signaled a turning point for Braden as a songwriter. “It was a new direction for me,” he affirms. “It’s a breakup song, but it changes its mind halfway through. The tempo changes, and it picks up. You think, ‘Maybe I’m not the one who’s at fault.’ It’s more realistic. I’ll always remember writing it, because I genuinely felt a progression as a writer.” The rowdy and raucous “BREAKING IN THESE BOOTS” kicks up dust with wild fretwork and a slippery dancefloor- ready groove. “It really blurs the line between Rock and Country,” he smiles. “After a breakup, it basically says, ‘It was hard when you left, but I’m figuring it out. I got some new boots, and I’m going to party in them’.”

By the end of a devil and a prayer, you’re going to know Tyler Braden, and you’re also going to root for him. “Wherever you are in life, you’ve got to push forward, be yourself, and try not to do what anybody else is doing,” he leaves off. “Honesty is the number one thing for me. I just can’t wait to share this now.”