‘It’s Like the Song Was Meant to Be’

Before Tyler Nance released his debut song “Bad News” last fall and eclipsed it this year with his current Billboard Hot Country Songs debut entry “Keeps Me Sane,” he worked as a welder and grew up tending cattle on his family’s farm near Lamar, Missouri, a map dot town northwest of Springfield.

“I thought that was what I’d be doing for the rest of my life,” he tells Billboard.

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But the success of his music has put Nance on a different trajectory. “Keeps Me Sane,” released via Santa Anna Label Group, has earned 17.9 million official U.S. on-demand streams since it released in July, according to Luminate, while the song’s success propelled Nance to his current No. 32 position on the Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart. “Keeps Me Sane” earned six million streams within two weeks of its release, and made it onto Spotify’s Viral 50-Global rankings, while Nance’s monthly Spotify listeners have ballooned to over 2 million.

Nance wrote the song this past summer, working with co-writers Brent McCollough and Donnie Napier. “Keeps Me Sane” blends nature imagery of maple leaves and rushing waters, while capturing a sense of the search for relief against heartbreak and anxiety.

“I was sitting in my living room one night and grabbed my guitar and started mumbling out words and wrote the first verse,” Nance recalls. “I had a [writing session] the next day, took it in and they loved it. It was like the song was meant to be, in a way. It’s really seemed to have helped people who deal with anxiety and stress.”

Nance wrote poetry as a child, but spent most of his time working the family farm, a childhood he says, “taught me a lot about respect and hard work.” Nance learned pipe welding from his uncle, who built fencing for corrals. After high school, Nance moved to Kentucky, living in a camper while working as a welder. During a visit to Missouri, he picked up an acoustic guitar he’d purchased during the COVID-19 pandemic and began learning songs by Zach Bryan and Tyler Childers.

“I learned some basic chords and kept writing to those chord patterns. I didn’t take it too seriously, it was just my outlet,” he explains. “Then I shared some music on social media and it started gaining traction.”

In August 2024, he released his first song “Bad News,” which now has over 4 million streams on Spotify. He followed with two EPs (I’m Not Him and Wasted Chances), including songs such as “Sorrows of a Sorry Soul” and vulnerable “I’m Not Him” and “Whiskey Me or the Pain.” But “Keeps Me Sane” reaches a new level.

“I keep saying, ‘It’s insane,’” he says with a laugh.

The Wasserman-booked Nance has opened shows for Bayker Blankenship and Kidd G, and will open for Justin Moore this month. He’s also working on his upcoming full-length project.

Nance, Billboard’s Country Rookie of the Month for September, discussed his upcoming album, his influences, his signature mustache and more.

You have a full album in the works. How is that shaping up?

Hopefully, I will be putting it out next year. A lot of the songs are kind of about my life and my roots, growing up in the Midwest and that story of where I came from.

Can we expect any collabs?

As of now, no. I have one song on there that has a female [vocal] part and I am looking at getting someone on that. There are a couple of other songs that I have artists in mind that I would love to have on those.

Which artists are on your bucket list to collaborate with?

Tyler Childers and Sam Barber. Tyler, his music has influenced me. Sam is also from Missouri, and he’s a proficient writer and has a great voice.

Who were some of your other influences growing up?

I listened to a lot of bluegrass stuff, a lot of Keith Whitley, Ricky Skaggs, Johnny Cash, Elvis, Everly Brothers, anything before the 2000s is what influenced me.

Who was the first concert you went to?

I saw a Zach Bryan concert in Kansas City, when he first started touring. His music has gotten me through a lot and taught me a lot, too, with guitar.

What is your favorite Zach Bryan song to cover?

“Godspeed.” One of my good friends passed away when she was 17 and they played that song at her funeral. That was one of the first songs I ever learned.

When you do get time to yourself, what do you like to do for fun?

I love to see new things and new places. I’m also a foodie, I guess. I like history. I would love to see Devils Tower in Wyoming, or the Statue of Liberty or Yosemite.

Do you have a favorite Nashville restaurant?

A lot of the burger places, like Jack Brown’s [Beer and Burger Joint] is amazing. I love beef, of course, since I came out the womb.

What podcasts or books are you into?

I like the Joe Rogan, Theo Von and Bad Friends podcasts. I read a lot of history stuff and listen to audiobooks, just nerdy stuff.

You are also known for your handlebar mustache. What made you want to grow it out?

I was a senior in high school when I started growing the mustache. I watched the [1993] movie Tombstone with Val Kilmer and Sam Elliott. I loved [Kilmer’s character] Doc Holliday. That wasn’t the only reason [for growing his mustache], but it’s my way to stick out so people would know who I was when I was out on the road.

What’s your favorite mustache product to use?

I use mustache wax called Fisticuffs. If I’m in a bind, I’ll use an Elmer’s Gluestick. You have to have one or the other, or it makes eating lunch or dinner not fun… a mouthful of mustache.

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