BIO

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Born in the new millennium, Luke Tyler Shelton makes soul-soothing rock-and-roll with all the ineffable charm of a faraway time. With a profound gift for dreaming up heavenly melodies and fantastically loose grooves, the Los Angeles native found his sound as part of a close-knit scene of young musicians and artists—a DIY-minded community whose spirit and sensibilities recall the near-mythic creative hotbed of early-’70s Laurel Canyon. Produced by Shooter Jennings (Brandi Carlile, Tanya Tucker) and Jonathan Wilson (Father John Misty, Angel Olsen), Luke’s debut body of work merges country-rock, folk-pop, and Southern soul into songs that immediately transport the audience into a state of enchanted ease.

A mostly self-taught musician, Luke was steeped in music from an early age thanks to his father (a reggae singer hailing from Hawaii) and mother (a classic-rock obsessive who bought him his first guitar). Originally from the San Fernando Valley, he got his first drum kit at age four, took piano lessons in elementary school, and played in a psych-rock band for most of high school—an experience that involved spending untold hours honing his chops in his family’s garage, steadily developing the potent sense of rhythm that still informs his sound today. As he began exploring the artists and bands he now names among his essential influences (Neil Young, Faces, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, and Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac), he taught himself to play guitar and started writing songs soon after finishing high school in 2019, and shortly thereafter, stumbled upon the vibrant creative community that would radically alter his musical path. “There were all these people my age who were making art and clothes and music, and they were all so talented and put so much personality into what they were creating,” he says. “I started playing with people I’d met through that scene, and now it’s turned into this revolving-door kind of thing where we all play in each other’s bands and share bills at shows.”

As he continued sharpening his songcraft and building up a following online, Luke caught the attention of Concord Records and signed a deal with the label after playing a gig outside a warehouse art show near the beach. Not long after the signing, he linked up with Jennings and Wilson and set to work on his first batch of songs, all recorded to tape with his circle of friends at Wilson’s studio in the bohemian enclave of Topanga Canyon.

Mixed by four-time Grammy-winner Trina Shoemaker (Sheryl Crow, Queens Of The Stone Age)—and also featuring Jennings’ longtime bandmate Ted Russell Kamp on bass and Wilson on drums, guitar, and Moog synth—Luke’s debut singles achieve a certain rarefied magic, matching their exquisitely orchestrated sound with a free-flowing energy that instantly transfers onto the listener. On “Anna,” Luke brings his warm and soulful vocals to a sublimely tender piece of storytelling, adorning the song’s statement of lovestruck devotion with lush fiddle melodies and sweetly rolling harmonies. “I wrote ‘Anna’ about someone who’s had such an impact on your life that their presence never fully leaves you, even if you’re not together anymore,” he says. A shining example of the deliberately unhurried pace of his music, “Love On My Mind” drifts from dreamy pedal steel to gently shimmering vibraphone to cascading guitar as Luke captures the serene euphoria of “finally finding a person to love and to love you back, and feeling secure in a relationship for the first time.” And on “Feeling Always Down,” with its wistful piano tones and moody guitar work, Luke’s voice takes on a bittersweet intensity as he channels the all-consuming ache of self-doubt and despondency. “I was driving around very early in the morning and listening to George Harrison and going through a rough patch and I decided I needed to write a sad song,” he recalls. “I’m rarely that intentional about what I’m writing, but I parked outside my friend’s house and got out my guitar and wrote the song right then, and it helped me to release some of that emotion.”

Now at work on his debut album, Luke ultimately hopes to impart others with the same sense of exhilarated wonder he felt upon discovering the music that most inspires him. “That era of music happened so long ago that, for someone my age, it doesn’t seem completely real—it’s almost like folklore,” he says. “That’s what really pulled me into it, and made me want to figure out how those sounds could be made. I hope my music gives people that same kind of excitement and joy, like they’re experiencing something that they’ve never heard made in their lifetime.”

Credits

Title: A Bus Ain’t A Home (3:23)

(Luke Tyler Shelton)

Vocals: Luke T. Shelton

Background Vocals: Lily Cornell

Silver Acoustic Guitar: Luke T. Shelton

Acoustic Guitar: Tristan Leabu

Bass Guitar: Casey Nunes

Piano: Hunter Watts

Pedal Steel: Tommy DeBourbon

Drums: Colton Stephens

Paper/ Brush: Caleb Gomes

Produced by: Shooter Jennings & Jonathan Wilson

Engineered by: Mark Rains

Assistant Engineering by: Nate Haessly

Mixed by: Mark Rains

Mastered by: Paul Blackmore

Recorded at: Snake Mountain (Sunset Sound Studio 3)

Title: Hell Of A Ride (3:37)

(Luke Tyler Shelton)

Luke Tyler Shelton (ASCAP)

Produced and recorded by Jonathan Wilson, and Shooter Jennings

Mixed by Jonathan Wilson

Mastered by Paul Blakemore

Title: Where The West Begins (4:47)

(Written by: Luke Tyler Shelton, Arthur Chapman)

Copyright Control

Produced by Shooter Jennings and Jonathan Wilson

Recorded by Grant Milliken

Mixed by Trina Shoemaker

Mastered by Paul Blakemore

Luke Tyler Shelton – harp, acoustic, 12 string guitar, vocals

Jonathan Wilson – drums

Ted Russell Kamp – bass

Hunter Watts – keys

Tristan Leabu – 12 string guitar, electric guitar, background vocals

Luke Kyllo – electric guitar

Title: Love On My Mind (05:23)

(Writer – Luke Tyler Shelton)

Publisher/Publisher (ASCAP)

Produced by Luke Shelton/Shooter Jennings/Jonathan Wilson

Recorded by Shooter Jennings/Jonathan Wilson/Grant Milliken

Mixed by Kathryn “Trina” Shoemaker

Mastered by Paul Blakemore

Musicians / Instruments Luke Shelton (Lead Vocals/Vocal Harmonies/Acoustic Guitar/Drums), Haylie Hostetter (Vocal Harmonies), Alex Amundson (Electric Guitar/Vocal Harmonies), Tristan Leabu (Electric Guitar), Luke Kyllo (Acoustic Guitar), Ted Russell Kamp (Bass Guitar), Jonathan Wilson (Drums/Percussion/Moog Synthesizer), Hunter Watts (Piano), Zena Kay (Pedal Steel), Grant Milliken (Vibraphone)

Title: Feeling Always Down (5:07)

(Writer – Luke Tyler Shelton)

Publisher/Publisher (ASCAP)

Produced by Shooter Jennings/Jonathan Wilson

Recorded by Shooter Jennings/Jonathan Wilson/Grant Milliken=

Mixed by Kathryn “Trina” Shoemaker

Mastered by Paul Blakemore

Musicians / Instruments Luke Shelton (Lead Vocals/Acoustic 12 String), Alex Amundson (Electric Guitar), Luke Kyllo (Electric Guitar), Ted Russell Kamp (Bass Guitar), Hunter Watts (Piano), Jonathan Wilson (Drums), Zena Kay (Pedal Steel)

Title: Anna (05:25)

(Writer – Luke Tyler Shelton)

Publisher/Publisher (ASCAP)

Produced by Shooter Jennings/Jonathan Wilson

Recorded by Shooter Jennings/Jonathan Wilson/Grant Milliken

Mixed by Kathryn “Trina” Shoemaker

Mastered by Paul Blakemore

Musicians / Instruments Luke Shelton (Lead Vocals/Vocal Harmonies/Acoustic Guitar), Jonathan Wilson (Acoustic Guitar/Drums/Percussion), Ted Russell Kamp (Bass Guitar), Luke Kyllo (Electric Guitar), Hunter Watts (Piano/Organ), Joe Silver (Mandolin), Zena Kay (Pedal Steel), Klaus Haus (Fiddle), Haylie Hostetter (Vocal Harmonies), Alex Amundson (Vocal Harmonies)

Lyrics

A Bus Ain’t A Home

Pick up your bags we’re leaving in the morning

Seems I’m gonna take that road again

Ain’t that a life to change without a warning

Find all you love just blowin’ in the wind

All you love just blowin’ in the wind

To leave you behind is nothing short of daunting

You are my life, a lover, and a friend

If I could leave with you I’d be soaring

I’d take you down and never leave your hand

Take you down and never leave again

So darling don’t you cry and don’t you worry

You are the one lover on my mind

I’ll be sure to write you every morning

I’ll be there to meet you in no time

Hell Of A Ride

I tend to slip back baby when you ride on my line

Flip me over and I’ll be there in time

You’re a hard loving woman, you’re one of a kind

Just flip me over and I’ll be there in time

And it’s a hell of a ride

Hell of a ride with my love 2x

I tell you babe I just can’t get you out of head

When I think over on all the things that we’ve said

You were my baby before and now you’re all mine

I can’t relieve ya

You know I’d lose my mind

And it’s a hell of a ride

Hell of a ride with my love 2x

She come a knocking when I’m down on the floor

Tells me, “Babe I can’t take it what you waiting there for?”

I get excited

You know I can’t deny it

Gonna love you baby

Gonna love you all through the night!

I tend to slip back baby when you ride on my line

Flip me over and I’ll be there in time

Know you’re a hard loving woman

You’re one of a kind

Flip me over and I’ll be there in time

And it’s a hell of a ride

Hell of a ride with my love 4x

Love On My Mind

Woke up early this morning

With a love on my mind

It’s something I’ve been yearning

To be with a woman so kind

She bring me up

Won’t let me down

She’s the queen of this town

And when I start to feelin bad

Well I’m glad she’s around

Cause no one can love me like my lady

She’s my sweet one, she’s my baby yeah

I lingered far from home

Many hills I did climb

But my demons left me alone

Had not a reason to hide

And now I know that wherever I go

She’ll be right by my side

Nothing here could be more clear

When she’s holding me tight

Cause no one can love me like my lady

She’s my sweet one, she’s my baby yeah

They say this house is built to burn

We’ll light that match babe when it’s our turn

So when your heart start to achin’

And your world begin to shake then

Turn your lovin’ light on bright

There’s no fear to hold

Just let your mind unfold

I’ll be here to guide ya through the night

The road I’ve taken is long

But I’ve been happy to ride

And I don’t mind being alone

When there’s a love on my mind

And now I know that wherever I go

I’ll be right by her side

Nothing here could be more clear

When I’m holding her tight

No one can love me like my lady

She’s my sweet one, she’s my baby

No one can love me like my lady

She’s my sweet one, she’s my baby

Yeah, she’s my baby

Feeling Always Down

Feeling always down

What is that fear that you hold

And what fuels your frown

Find anyway to break the mold

Cause you’re feeling always down

Let it hang out, let it hang all around

You’re feeling always down

Let it pour out, let the rain hit the ground

Feeling always down

Filled with self doubt, what’s that pain all about

Feeling always down, now

And how can you make way

When every sky turns to grey

Will it be today

That you realize it’s okay

Cause you’re feeling always down

Let it hang out, let it hang all around

You’re feeling always down

Let it pour out, let the rain hit the ground

Feeling always down

Filled with self doubt, what’s the pain all about?

Feeling always down, now

And would it be, would it be a crime

To leave all your worries behind

Or could it be, could it be the time

To start all things over and make it all fine

Cause you’re feeling always down

Let it hang out, let it hang all around

You’re feeling always down

Let it pour out, let the rain hit the ground

Feeling always down

Filled with self doubt, what’s that pain all about

Feeling always down, now

Anna

She makes me breakfast every morning

We sit on her rug and watch the sun roll by

And I love the way that she smiles and wonders

How a picture can change from a shift in the light

Well I love her so and everyone knows it

Cause this broken man she was able to save

She carries my heart in the largest ocean

And her love comes down like a rolling wave

And I said oh Anna

I couldn’t leave you if I tried

Oh Anna

My heart’ll reside in the wake of your tide

And that’s alright!

And when the rain began to fall

I thought I would drown from the weight of it all

But she lent me a word and shoulder to lean on

You know she gave me some food and a place to stay

Well now she been a friend and a local known hero

She changes the scene with the blink of an eye

And nobody knows just where she’s going

But I’ll follow her there til the day I die

And I said oh Anna

I couldn’t leave you if I tried

Oh Anna

My heart’ll reside in the wake of your tide

And that’s alright!

And when you go out for the day

I won’t waste time while I wait for you

I don’t go much but I’ve got some change

And I will buy you roses

Before the market closes

And I will bring them home to you

Oh Anna

I couldn’t leave you if I tried

Oh Anna

You know my heart’ll reside in the wake of your tide

And that’s alright!

Oh Anna, Anna!

Blue Sky – EP