Jenny & Tyler

Jenny & Tyler
Jenny & Tyler performing at UD's Scrounge
Background information
Origin	Nashville, TN, United States
Genres	Pop-folk, bluegrass, acoustic
Years active	2007–present
Members	Jenny Somers (vocals, glockenspiel, guitar, mandolin) Tyler Somers (vocals, guitar, bass guitar, piano, mandolin, ukulele, suitcase kick drum )
Website	jennyandtyler.com

Jenny & Tyler are a husband-wife pop-folk band originally from Newark, Delaware, and currently based in Nashville, Tennessee. The group consists of singer-songwriters Jenny Somers and Tyler Somers. Their style is a fusion of folk, pop, funk, rock, soul, and bluegrass that has been called “soul-grass.” The duo has independently released three full-length albums and two EPs, and regularly tours the United States. They have collaborated with artists such as Mac Powell, Levi Weaver and Joel Rakes. They cite Alison Krauss, Sixpence None the Richer, Jennifer Knapp, Nichole Nordeman, Amy Grant, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, Jack Johnson, and jazz as influences.

History

Musical background

Jenny grew up immersed in bluegrass and southern gospel. Her family moved cross-country frequently as a result of her father's job in the Air Force, so she found a home for self-expression in the art of songwriting at an early age.

Tyler was born in Wilmington, Delaware, and his parents (his father a jazz pianist and composer and his mother a vocalist) exposed him to jazz and Barbra Streisand.

Jenny & Tyler

Jenny and Tyler first met in the fall of 2004 while students at the University of Delaware. Almost immediately they began writing songs together and backing each other up at shows. Tyler formed a band with his roommate, Joel Rakes, and Jenny continued to write and perform as a solo act. After a while, Jenny and Tyler began dating, and in the summer of 2006 they began work on an album together. They were married in June 2007, in between production and release of Jenny & Tyler's first record, A Prelude, which was released in December the same year. The pair spent the next year touring the mid-Atlantic states and moved in August 2008 to Nashville.

Jenny & Tyler performed live on NBC 10 Philadelphia’s The 10! Show on November 24, 2009 to promote This Isn’t a Dream and their November 29 homeless benefit concert with Tyler's father, Wilson Somers, at the Grand Opera House in Wilmington, DE. They returned to the 10! Show in 2011 to perform "This Is Just So Beautiful."

Writing and recording process

Jenny & Tyler describe their songwriting process as very collaborative, as they constantly bounce ideas off of each other. Tyler had been the primary sound engineer and producer for all of their records until the most recent, Open Your Doors, which is set for release in April 2011.

Collaborations

On their 2010 release, Faint Not Jenny & Tyler collaborated with Third Day front man Mac Powell, who provided backing vocals for the song "Carry Me." The couple met Powell when they opened for him at at a men's conference in Wilmington, DE.

Artwork

All the original artwork on A Prelude, This Isn’t a Dream, and Jenny & Tyler’s website was created by Tyler's sister Bethany Somers, a freelance artist in Nashville.

Discography

Year	Title
2007	A Prelude
2009	This Isn't a Dream
2009	A Prelude: Acoustic EP
2009	Love Came Down: A Christmas EP
2010	Faint Not
2011	Live at Studio A
2012	Open Your Doors

Faint Not

Jenny & Tyler told The Celebrity Cafe, “Faint Not chronicles our journey of faith, from God’s pursuit of us, to first believing, to the really high highs and the really low lows; it’s an honest telling of our relationship with the Lord and with each other.”

External links

• Official website
• Jenny & Tyler MySpace page
• One Eyed Cat Music