Full Bio

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Tyler Nail is a North Carolina-born songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and performer whose work sits firmly in the Americana tradition. Known for story-driven songs and a rough-edged Southern voice, his music blends the grit of country and gospel with the narrative clarity of classic folk. His latest single, “Haunted Houses,” is a slow-burning portrait of love’s endurance, depicting two people holding together through the impossible parts of life like ghosts bound within the same walls.

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Nail’s story began in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a former tobacco city marked by red clay, dogwood trees, and old brick factories. He grew up in a log cabin built by his grandfather, listening to his mother sing in the church choir and watching his father play drums. As a kid, he played out rhythms on pots and pillows before eventually finding his way to a drum kit, then to guitar, and finally to songwriting.

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By eighteen, he was performing his own rough-cut songs at open mics and bars around the Piedmont. Early audiences were drawn to his unvarnished honesty and intensity. Onstage, he’s a wiry, restless figure with a dark beard, pacing like he can’t stay still. His voice is loud, textured, and unmistakably Southern, and his two-finger Piedmont-blues guitar style lets him carry rhythm and melody all at once.

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Nail has been releasing music since 2008. His early years included regularly winning local performance competitions, earning his first regional following, and releasing his debut album Winter to Winter in 2011. That same year he produced When I Go Away: A Tribute to Levon Helm, a project that helped solidify his place in the Winston-Salem scene. Over the next decade, he toured extensively, shared stages with Americana acts like The Hackensaw Boys, American Aquarium, and Grammy winner Jim Lauderdale, and released a growing catalog of albums, EPs, and singles. His music has also been featured in film and television.

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In 2019, Nail released Life Lessons, a double album marking a darker, louder chapter in his writing. He followed with the 2020 single “I Don’t Wanna Die Alone” and the 2021 DEVIL EP, both signaling a new creative spark.

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In 2023, Nail left the Appalachian foothills for Providence, Rhode Island, looking for new experiences and inspiration. He spent 2024 writing heavily, sharing songs through Patreon and YouTube, and expanding his creative team. During that period he recorded Family, a 2025 release honoring the warmth and weight of his North Carolina roots while sharpening his guitar-driven Americana sound.

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With a catalog nearing 300 songs, Nail has built a body of work known for craftsmanship and emotional clarity. His accomplishments include “Best Country Artist” at the Forsyth Entertainment Awards (2018), multiple top-five songwriter placements in the Piedmont Triad, semi-finalist honors in the International Songwriting Competition and American Songwriter’s Road-Ready Contest (2024), and a nomination for “Best Americana Artist” by Motif Magazine (2025).

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