Tyler Rich On Reclaiming Control Over His Career And Releasing First Independent Project, ‘Hello California’

Tyler Rich is stepping into a new era of his career with the release of his first independent album, Hello California. Since cutting ties with Big Machine Label Group and starting over with ONErpm, Rich has embraced his creative freedom like never before and is overjoyed to finally share his story through music.

He released his Two Thousand Miles record in 2020 and continued to drop a handful of songs over the next three years. But there were so many more stories Rich wanted to share that he couldn’t due to the confines of his record deal. So after parting ways with the label, he got to work taking back creative control over his music and carving out his sophomore album from scratch.

“I love the relationships I built with Big Machine,” he admitted. “I love the friendships I made there. I love the career I was able to create from there. The label system is such an interesting thing because I had written so many songs over the years and your team hits you up when you turn these in and they say, ‘oh my God, this is incredible. This is a story we’ve never heard from you. This is a career record. This is the Tyler. People need to hear this,’ all these things when you turn these songs in. And you get so excited because that’s why you write these kinds of songs because you’re trying to tell so many different stories and you get so excited.”

He explained that while he understands the business, he often felt frustrated by the way it works.

“And then, I understand the business, I get why this happens, but then they just keep releasing the same two to three country love songs a year, chasing radio and when they’re only releasing that many songs a year, at first it doesn’t really feel like anything. But then as time goes by, you realize you’ve only released 18 songs in seven years. That comes up at 2.5 a year and it’s all kind of the same theme and the same vibe and the same song because over time when they come out spaced out like that, you don’t necessarily realize that they just keep chasing the same thing over and over and over again,” he said.

Stepping away from a major label means getting to release music on his own timeline, without waiting on someone else’s schedule. So, he made up for lost time by delivering new songs to his fanbase every month leading up to the album’s March 7 release. This allowed Rich to reclaim his power and fall in love with music all over again, in a way that felt like his most authentic self.

“I just ended up going through all my songs I had for the past three years that I never got a chance to put out. Different stories that I always wanted to tell, different parts of me, and trying to put it all together and get it out to the world. The process was super, super, super fun,” he shared with Country Now.

Through each of the 10 tracks, all co-written by the California native, listeners can join the rising star on his new musical journey and get to know who Rich is as an artist “without any creative walls up,” he shared.

Many of his past releases have centered around how much love Rich has for his wife, Sabina, a theme that also runs through the title track of this project. However, he also made sure to expand beyond his love story to share insight on the scarifies he has had to make as an artist, like having to be away from family and friends for his life on the road.

“I just wanted fans to be able to connect with me on a different level other than how much I love my wife,” he admitted. “That is such a huge thing in my fan groups and stuff. Everybody loves my wife as much as I do and it’s helped because of the songs I’ve put out, totally. But the songs on the album talk a lot about being away from family and being away from friends and sacrifices of being on the road, whether you are a musician or whether you’re the military or your first responder or anything that keeps you away from your friends and family. There’s definitely a couple songs on there that hit that note.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tyler Rich (@tylerrich)

The title track does just that as it chronicles Tyler Rich meeting his other half and how she has been able to make him feel at home even when he’s miles away from his physical home. “Hello California” is abundant in reflection and love, while the unreleased tune “Leaving California,” will tackle a more somber narrative once it appears on the second half off the double album.

“’Leaving California’ is probably going to be the most gut-wrenching song on both the projects for those that love my wife and I, at least, because her being in California all the time for work, she’s an actress, models and that kind of stuff. And the whole song is just about me leaving California 10 years ago and moving to Nashville. But then ever since meeting her wishing that I could steal the Hollywood signs, put it in my front yard, all these things so that I didn’t have to keep leaving California. I always have to go out there. We’ve been long distance forever,” he openly shared.

Hello California features 10 tracks, with the remaining tunes coming out later this year. By the end of 2025, fans can expect to hear a lot more “cool music” that Rich admits he is “super proud of.” He was originally planning to release just 18 songs on the entire double album, however so much fun was being had throughout this process that he ended up with a collection that features around 21 songs instead.

Rich says one of the most fulfilling parts of this whole journey has been seeing fans sing both his old and new songs back to him while out on the road in 2025.

“It just feels awesome. It feels like you put in all this hard work, this chaos, and you’re just hoping for the best and then you start to see the signs of it and I’m just smiling at ear to ear. It’s beautiful.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tyler Rich (@tylerrich)

He’s going to continue to bring his emotive songs to fans all across the country on his headlining tour, The Hello California Tour, which features support from Erin Kinsey & Clayton Johnson on select dates. The trek kicks off at Nashville’s Exit/In on April 10, marking one of several cities—along with New York City and Boston—where he’ll headline a ticketed show for the first time.

“I’ve never done my very own headline ticketed show in Nashville…I’m testing the theory of a 10 year town because that’s when I hit my 10 years. And so right before I hit my 10 year mark is that first show. So that’s going to be fun,” Rich shared.

For a full list of Tyler Rich’s upcoming dates, visit his official website.