Luke Tyler Shelton Shifts His Perspective On New Single “Reasons”
Luke Tyler Shelton makes his first release of the year with the new single “Reasons.” A piano-driven track that positions his vocals and relatable songwriting at the forefront, the song feels both new and nostalgic all at once. Recorded and produced by Jonny Bell (Cage The Elephant, Zella Day, Chicano Batman) in Long Beach, Shelton pulls inspiration from artists like Harry Nilsson, Todd Rundgren, and Clairo as he lays down the next landscape his musical journey will wander through.
“‘Reasons’ is the first song I’m putting out that I wrote on piano,” Shelton shares. “The song is bittersweet for me because I had written it from the perspective of my girlfriend at a hard time in our relationship. But putting myself in her headspace through my music allowed me to relate to her experience in a really cool way.”
In today’s official video (set to premiere at 9 am PT) directed by Isaiah Hesford and Jake Howell, Shelton is sitting at the piano while a miniature version of his girlfriend is doing everything in her power to capture his attention. Like a playful dream sequence shot in black and white, there’s something surrealist in the simplicity of the visual for “Reasons.”
Having recently played his first headline show in New York City and performed at Green River Festival, Shelton will open for Wilderado in Aspen later this month. After that, he will continue to tour as Malcolm Todd’s guitarist. With Todd, Shelton recently performed on The Tonight Show.
Last year, Shelton released his debut EP Blue Sky via Concord Records. Produced by Shooter Jennings (Brandi Carlile, Tanya Tucker) and Jonathan Wilson (Father John Misty, Angel Olsen), the EP merges country-rock, folk-pop, and Southern soul into songs that immediately transport the audience into a state of enchanted ease. He then went on to tour with Joy Oladokun, The Dip, Ole 60, Amble and more.
Born in the new millennium, Luke Tyler Shelton makes soul-soothing rock-and-roll with all the ineffable charm of a faraway time. With a profound gift for dreaming up heavenly melodies and fantastically loose grooves, the Los Angeles native found his sound as part of a close-knit scene of young musicians and artists—a DIY-minded community whose spirit and sensibilities recall the near-mythic creative hotbed of early-’70s Laurel Canyon. Produced by Shooter Jennings (Brandi Carlile, Tanya Tucker) and Jonathan Wilson (Father John Misty, Angel Olsen), Luke’s debut body of work merges country-rock, folk-pop, and Southern soul into songs that immediately transport the audience into a state of enchanted ease.
A mostly self-taught musician, Luke was steeped in music from an early age thanks to his father (a reggae singer hailing from Hawaii) and mother (a classic-rock obsessive who bought him his first guitar). Originally from the San Fernando Valley, he got his first drum kit at age four, took piano lessons in elementary school, and played in a psych-rock band for most of high school—an experience that involved spending untold hours honing his chops in his family’s garage, steadily developing the potent sense of rhythm that still informs his sound today. As he began exploring the artists and bands he now names among his essential influences (Neil Young, Faces, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, and Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac), he taught himself to play guitar and started writing songs soon after finishing high school in 2019, and shortly thereafter, stumbled upon the vibrant creative community that would radically alter his musical path.
As he continued sharpening his songcraft and building up a following online, Luke caught the attention of Concord Records and signed a deal with the label after playing a gig outside a warehouse art show near the beach. Not long after the signing, he linked up with Jennings and Wilson and set to work on his first batch of songs, all recorded to tape with his circle of friends at Wilson’s studio in the bohemian enclave of Topanga Canyon.
Mixed by four-time Grammy-winner Trina Shoemaker (Sheryl Crow, Queens Of The Stone Age)—and also featuring Jennings’ longtime bandmate Ted Russell Kamp on bass and Wilson on drums, guitar, and Moog synth—Luke’s debut EP Blue Sky achieves a certain rarefied magic, matching their exquisitely orchestrated sound with a free-flowing energy that instantly transfers onto the listener.
