Tyler Grant is a flatpicking guitarist, singer, and teacher based in Colorado. He won the National Flatpicking Championship at Winfield, Kansas, in 2008 and the MerleFest Doc Watson Guitar Championship in 2009. He placed at Winfield three times between 2005 and 2014. He played in the Drew Emmitt Band and the Emmitt-Nershi Band, founded Grant Farm in 2010, and released his sixth solo album, Flatpicker, in 2025.
Why Grant matters
Grant is a contest champion who would rather be known as a rhythm guitarist. He has said he does not want to be seen only as a flatpicker. That view shapes his playing and his teaching. His online Flatpicking Academy and his Monday night play-along jams on YouTube teach pickers how to hold a band together before they take a solo.
Life and career
Grant grew up in the hills of southern California. He studied classical guitar and earned a music performance degree from the California Institute of the Arts. He played in the Electric Waste Band, a San Diego group with a spot in that city’s music hall of fame. Hearing Tony Rice and David Grier turned him toward flatpicking.
In the early 2000s he chose Colorado over Nashville session work. He wanted to start a band, play the festivals, and live outdoors. He toured as a sideman with Adrienne Young and Little Sadie, Abigail Washburn, and fiddler April Verch. He placed second at Winfield in 2005 and won it in 2008. He won the Doc Watson Guitar Championship at MerleFest in 2009. He also won or placed at the RockyGrass, Wayne Henderson, and New England flatpicking contests.
He spent about five years in the Drew Emmitt Band, then became an original member of the Emmitt-Nershi Band with Drew Emmitt of Leftover Salmon and Bill Nershi of the String Cheese Incident. He released In the Light, a vocal record, in 2006, and the instrumental Up the Neck by 2010. In 2010 he founded Grant Farm, an electric band he calls cosmic Americana. Grant Farm released Grant Farm (2012), Plowin’ Time (2014), Meeting on the Mountain with Fruition (2014), and Broke in Two (2019) on Grant Central Records. The band paused in 2020. He placed third at Winfield in 2014. Since 2020 he has guided rafts and played on RiverWonderGrass trips. In March 2025 he released Flatpicker, an instrumental album of pieces inspired by western places.
Playing style
Grant plays with a loose right hand and a strong sense of melody. On Up the Neck he mixes straight flatpicking with a flatpick and fingers hybrid, and he borrows from electric players like Jerry Reed and Don Rich. His lines stay tuneful. He builds solos from the melody rather than from licks.
His rhythm playing is the part he cares about most. He spent years as the rhythm guitarist in the Drew Emmitt Band and the Emmitt-Nershi Band, and he has said he wants to be known for that work. His teaching follows the same order: steady rhythm first, then licks.
Influences and legacy
Tony Rice and David Grier pulled him into flatpicking, and Norman Blake came after. He shared a house with banjo player Chris Pandolfi of the Infamous Stringdusters. He has played with Drew Emmitt, Bill Nershi, Abigail Washburn, April Verch, and Jay Cobb Anderson of Fruition. He teaches through ArtistWorks and at Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Kamp, and he hosts play-along bluegrass jams on YouTube.
Signature tunes and songs
Up the Neck Meet Me on the Mountain The Wedge Goat Canyon Trestle.
Essential recordings
In the Light (2006) Up the Neck (2010) Grant Farm, with Grant Farm (Grant Central, 2012) Flatpicker (2025)
Awards and honors
National Flatpicking Championship, Walnut Valley Festival, second place (2005) National Flatpicking Championship, Walnut Valley Festival, first place (2008) MerleFest Doc Watson Guitar Championship, first place (2009) National Flatpicking Championship, Walnut Valley Festival, third place (2014)
Watch and listen
Grant plays solo flatpicking guitar on his own channel. Watch how the melody stays out front while the right hand keeps a steady pulse.
Grant teaches how to build speed in bluegrass flatpicking for JamPlay.
What to learn from Grant
Learn Up the Neck, the title track from his instrumental record. It moves the melody into the upper frets and teaches you the neck above the fifth fret. The technique to steal is his rhythm work. Spend a week playing only rhythm along with his YouTube play-along jams. Keep the bass note on the beat and the strum light. A jam needs one steady rhythm guitar more than it needs another fast break.
Sources
Winners archive, alphabetical, Walnut Valley Festival Tyler Grant, California Bluegrass Association Tyler Grant, Flatpik.com instructors Guitar Music From Western Places By Flatpicker Tyler Grant, WMOT Tyler Grant, Up the Neck, Bluegrass Today Bio, Grant Farm
Related players
See the guitar players hub and the guitar guide for more flatpickers. Grant learned from Tony Rice and David Grier. Other Winfield champions on this site include Allen Shadd, Mark Cosgrove, and Cody Kilby.