Tyler-James Kelly makes 1970s-inspired country music for the modern world. It’s a warm, lived-in sound, created by a longtime songwriter who’s happy to be a torchbearer for the music that’s always inspired him. 

That sound reaches a new peak with Dream River, Kelly’s full-length solo debut. He wrote the album’s 10 songs at home in Rhode Island, during a period of change and rebirth. “My lady and I had just moved into a small, mid-century house on a hill, overlooking a river that I’d grown up swimming in,” he says. “It’s a very humble house, but it does things to you. One day, I just picked up my guitar and banged out a tune about gratitude and the peace that a home like this can bring.”

That song became the launchpad for an entire album that not only pays tribute to the people and places that have influenced Kelly’s life, but also the vintage music that’s fueled him for decades. Inspired by his new surroundings — a deck that he rebuilt himself, a nostalgic river flowing past his property, and a rural landscape that offered a break from the hard hustle of city life — Kelly began to dig deep, writing songs that embraced his longtime love of country music. He had already spent years on the road, fronting a critically-acclaimed blues-rock band, but moving to that house in the Rhode Island countryside helped shift his perspective and his priorities. “I decided I was done with anything that wasn’t 100% authentic in my life,” Kelly explains. “I wanted to show everyone who I really am. People can create a character version of themselves, and I wanted to get rid of that.”