Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown will be performing at Allen City Blues Festival in Allen, TX at the Allen Events Center on May 27th, 2012 at 4pm with Ian Moore and others. Tickets on sale Feb. 10th via Ticketmaster

Tyler Bryant: Tyler Bryant lives for music. Passionate about expressing himself and connecting with others through his songs and sounds, Tyler moved to Nashville from Honey Grove, TX when he was 17 to write songs and start a band. He has pushed the musical limits of guitar, vocals, and performance, and has captured the attention of the music scene with his spectacular talent and rare showmanship.

 Tyler Bryant, currently 21 years old, is a guitar prodigy who has shared the stage with Aerosmith, Jeff Beck, Heart, REO Speedwagon, Paul Simon, BB King, Pat Benatar, The Arc Angels, Vince Gill and many others. At age 15, Tyler won the Robert Johnson Blues Foundation's New Generation Award, which recognized him as one of the most promising new artists on the music scene. He has also performed at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in Chicago, and was signed by John Huie at Creative Artists Agency on the spot, after his first showcase in Nashville. 



Tyler recalls a musical turning point at age 11, when he walked into a music store in Paris, Texas and heard 63-year old bluesman, Roosevelt Twitty, on guitar. “He was playing a Lightning Hopkins song,” Tyler says. “He was just sitting in the corner of Holly Bond’s Music store, and was singing and playing with such emotion that something translated deeply, and I wanted to understand. I knew I wanted to play. Whenever you hear someone with that much soul, when they really believe what they are playing, it’s so inspiring.”



Tyler’s musical influences include the inspirations of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, The Black Crowes, and Jeff Beck. 



Tyler, along with Beck, Santana, and Slash, is featured in the award winning film,
“Rock Prophecies,” which is directed by John Chester, and produced
by Tim Kaiser (Seinfeld and Will & Grace). “Rock Prophecies,” is now airing nationally on PBS, and is available to watch online at Netflix and iTunes. Thousands of people across the world have been playing Tyler’s song, “Who I Am,” since its release on Guitar Hero® 5. 



Tyler has been busy recording and songwriting with some of the music industries best. He released his first EP, “My Radio” in March of 2011 and then released his most recent album, “From The Sandcastle,” in late September of 2011. 'Shackles' a track from "From the Sandcastle", was the iTunes' Discovery Download. The album was also featured in iTunes Rock on the Rise section for over eight weeks. He just finished recording his first full-length album with Dennis Herring (Modest Mouse, Mutemath, Counting Crows, Elvis Costello). The first single from the new album will release in June with the full album being released at the end of the summer. Tyler also recently contributed to the score for the Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter soundtrack. The movie, produced by Jim Lemley and Tim Burton, will be released on June 22 by Fox. 



Last year Tyler announced a new band name, Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown, as he wanted to recognize his band in everything he does. The Shakedown consists of Graham Whitford (Son of Brad Whitford from Aerosmith) and Belmont grad Caleb Crosby. Tyler and the band embarked on their first headlining tour last summer and continued touring well into November. The band only paused for the month of October, while Tyler opened for Jeff Beck on his Canadian and US Tour. Tyler & the Shakedown are in the middle of their second headlining tour, which will include tour dates all around North America. With a fearless obsession for his art, Tyler Bryant is advancing his music without limits. 




“To be 18 and play like this kid is the rarest of the rare. Hands down a future guitar god.” –Vince Gill

Tyler Bryant, currently 20 years old, is a guitar prodigy who has shared the stage with Aerosmith, Jeff Beck, Heart, REO Speedwagon, Paul Simon, BB King, Pat Benatar, The Arc Angels, Vince Gill and many others. At age 15, Tyler won the Robert Johnson Blues Foundation's New Generation Award, which recognized him as one of the most promising new artists on the music scene. He has also performed at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in Chicago, and was signed by John Huie at Creative Artists Agency on the spot, after his first showcase in Nashville.

Tyler recalls a musical turning point at age 11, when he walked into a music store in Paris, Texas and heard 63-year old bluesman, Roosevelt Twitty, on guitar. “He was playing a Lightning Hopkins song,” Tyler says. “He was just sitting in the corner of Holly Bond’s Music store, and was singing and playing with such emotion that something translated deeply, and I wanted to understand. I knew I wanted to play. Whenever you hear someone with that much soul, when they really believe what they are playing, it’s so inspiring.”

Tyler’s musical influences include the inspirations of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, The Black Crowes, and Jeff Beck.

Tyler, along with Beck, Santana, and Slash, is featured in the award winning film, “Rock Prophecies,” which is directed by John Chester, and produced by Tim Kaiser (Seinfeld and Will & Grace). “Rock Prophecies,” is now airing nationally on PBS and is available on DVD. Also, this past year, thousands of kid’s across the world have been playing Tyler’s song, “Who I Am,” since its release on Guitar Hero® 5.

Tyler has been busy recording and songwriting with some of Nashville’s best. He released his first EP, “My Radio” in March of 2011 and just finished a new album called “From The Sandcastle,” which will be released on September 20th. Tyler recently announced a new band name, Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown, as he wanted to recognize his band in everything he does. Tyler has also been busy touring around the country. He opened for Jeff Beck this spring and is currently doing a headlining club tour across the country with his band. In October, Tyler will be going back out on tour with Jeff Beck all across Canada and the Northwest USA. With a fearless obsession for his art, Tyler Bryant is advancing his music without limits.

“To be 18 and play like this kid is the rarest of the rare. Hands down a future guitar god.” –Vince Gill

Robert Randolph and the Family Band: "We wanted to take our time and find ourselves," says Robert Randolph. "Find out what was really inside of me and the band and bring that out. Really try to come up with the best songs, dig deep within, and let all of the experiences that we have had in the last three years come out in the music."

With Colorblind, Randolph and the Family Band have taken the difficult leap from being great performing artists to being great recording artists. Since emerging from a House of God church in Orange, New Jersey steeped in the "sacred steel" tradition, Randolphs astonishing pedal steel playing has had a revolutionary impact. Like a mere handful of musicians Louis Armstrong, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder he has actually been able to redefine the sonic possibilities of his instrument. Randolphs string wizardry is the focal point of the Family Bands legendary live appearances, and led to guest spots with artists ranging from the Blind Boys of Alabama to Ozzy Osbourne.

But even Randolph admits that the Family Bands previous recordings have focused more on capturing their onstage magic than on making an album for the ages. "On the last record (2003s Unclassified)," he says, "we had some ideas, wrote as we went along, and we were out of there in three weeks and thats cool. But in working with so many people and getting advice from Eric Clapton, Steven Tyler, and the guys from Dave Matthews Band they all say, 'Wed love to see your talent showcased within the context of a great song.' I was always caught up in the show, because Im comfortable as a performer," he continues. "But Carlos Santana said to me, if you ask fifty people which they remember most, a show or a record, 48 of them will say a great record. Because you live with a record, you can pick it up fifty years later and still listen to those songs."

So Randolph set some new goals for his second studio album something he wanted to stand on its own, not just be a souvenir of a great concert. For inspiration, he went back to some classic sources. "I listened to Sly Stone, a lot of Hendrix, Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder," he says. "Then Id go back to a church service and Id think, I want Colorblind to be a mixture of all of these things."

The big step this time around was the decision to collaborate with other songwriters. The talent assembled was immense, including Tommy Sims (who has written songs with Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, and Garth Brooks), Jeff Trott (Sheryl Crow), Mark Batson (Dave Matthews Band, Gwen Stefani), and the team of Drew Ramsey and Shannon Sanders (India.Arie, Heather Hedley). "We're fortunate to be good musicians," says Randolph, "and we were able to channel into that foundation during the collaboration process, and grow as songwriters."

Not that it was easy for such a pure player to make the emotional commitment required to craft and shape new material. "At first, it was kinda weird," he admits. "You put up this wall, like, this guy is going to try to change me, make me write a song that I wouldnt be comfortable performing thats automatically what you think. So at first I wasnt being as open as I should have been."

The breakthrough, he says, came with a ballad called "Stronger," written with Steve McEwan, who has scored country hits with the likes of Faith Hill and Kenny Chesney. "He was more of an aggressor, like, 'Lets go, we gotta write a song here!' And that was really the first step, the song that got everything glued in. Then I knew I could hold my own as a songwriter."

Randolph says that he began to feel growth that was both musical and personal. "I learned a lot about myself," he says. "You get into that mode and theres so much uncharted territory, its like discovering a whole new country. That confidence helped feed myself and the band."

As the albums title indicates, the results on Colorblind range from infectious R&B to timeless ballads. "Aint Nothin Wrong with That" is a sure-fire party-starter, while "Blessed" presents Randolphs more spiritual, introspective side. And, there is a blistering version of the Byrds "Jesus is Just Alright With Me," featuring Randolph and Clapton who became a close friend and mentor to the younger artist when they toured together in a blazing guitar battle recorded live in the studio.

Though Randolph has been defined by his jaw-dropping pyrotechnics on the pedal steel, he notes that the studio time devoted to this album led to an evolution in his playing as well. "Now instead of playing over the top of everything, Im learning to play within the melodies and the concept of the song," he says. "It doesnt have to be the most fancy lick, but everything needs to work together the melodies and the lyrics and the music."

Having grown up in urban New Jersey and making the leap from playing in church to headlining rock festivals, Randolphs aspirations go beyond expanding his own musical boundaries. "Im trying to create a new field and a new style thatll influence some kids to go, 'wow, I can be Black and be from the inner city and I dont have to be a rapper,'" he says. "I look at Sly Stone, how he came in and just ripped the music industry apart I think music fans are ready for that again."

Having broken through to a new level of creativity, Robert Randolph now finds that he cant turn it off. "Im still writing today," he says. "Its like being Willy Wonka this is that first door that opens up and all this other stuff comes out. Weve definitely stepped into some new dimension."

MARCUS RANDOLPH - Drums Robert is joined by cousin Marcus Randolph on the drums. Marcus pounds the skins relentlessly, powering the tight jams through stops, starts and changes and provides a steady rhythm section as foundation for Robert's eloquent pedal steel preaching.

DANYEL MORGAN - Bass Danyel Morgan on the bass has a unique strum/slap technique on the bass and is the hidden secret behind the band's success. Driving bass lines, thumping fills and downright funky fingering are the food that the band subsists and thrives on.

JASON CROSBY - Hammond B-3, Piano, Violin Jason Crosby was born on June 2, 1974 in Long Island, New York. Jason began studying classical violin at age 2 and piano at age 4. In his early teens, Jason began playing trumpet, French Horn, Viola, and Guitar. Jason began his professional musical career at age 14 playing in restaurants, coffee shops, country clubs, and theaters.