Monarch Artist Feature: Tyler Lance Walker Gill

By Kelsey Knott • Photos By Matt Johnson

If you’re looking for a fun, unique experience anchored in Louisville’s local legends and weirdos alike, look no further than Honky Talkin’ with Tyler Lance Walker Gill.

When Gill first released music in 2016, Nelly Pearl’s band members reached out, interested in backing him. Today, Tyler Lance Walker Gill and the Wolfmen are dedicated to facilitating good times and making Louisville’s country music scene something to talk about. While touring for road shows is still in the mix, Gill is trying on his hosting hat with his weekly variety show, “Honky Talkin’ with TLWG.” 

With a talk show format and artists to showcase, Gill brings fresh songs, interesting guests, and corny jokes to the Whirling Tiger every Tuesday night, reminiscent of Hee Haw or The Johnny Cash Show. In addition to musical guests playing a short set, Gill interviews locals: business owners, those promoting something, or simply his personal heroes, like recent guest Stanley Chase, creator of the Louisville Vegan Jerky Company. The show always has a theme linking the local guest to the set, and his band acts as the house band, learning new songs on their own before playing together onstage each week. The free show is recorded for social media, but continuing to build an audience to enjoy it live is the goal. “Personalized experiences have limited our communal experiences, and we suffer from that. Giant companies essentially own all of our time and attention, and we have to take it back and be intentional about connecting to what’s actually near us. A city’s culture depends on that.” 

We reminisced on the unserious days of country music, with punchlines and turn-of-phrases like George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” or Brad Paisley’s “I’m Gonna Miss Her.” Gill’s debut and Glamour albums reflect that comedic vibe. “Older country music artists were almost doing stand-up between songs. Getting a laugh and then breaking your heart with the saddest song in the world. The juxtaposition took the edge off.” And staying unserious is integral to Gill’s art. “The art is really to get in front of people and make those people have a good time. It’s a craft. I’m learning how to write and tell jokes, and how to completely fail and bomb. There is something so freeing about public failure–coming out on the other side of the fear and what-ifs. Most entertainers confront that, but when I confront it weekly, it gives me this superpower that keeps me wanting to experiment constantly.”

Gill’s mission is to bring value back to local entertainment, getting people out and about to explore what’s happening in town tonight. “I want local artists to feel more empowered to focus on doing something just for us here locally. Making money entertaining for a living is good, but you can also just do stuff.”

His plea? “Don’t worry about who’s going to be on the show. Just come see us!” 

With the Whirling Tiger moving spaces and Gill expecting his first baby soon, there’s only a few shows left to catch this year. Be sure to find your way there on a Tuesday night this September, before he returns in January with more silly ideas in store.