Tyler Lyle

Tyler Lyle performing live with The Midnight

Tyler Lyle (born December 1, 1985) is an American musician who is the primary guitarist, vocalist and lyricist for The Midnight.

Born and raised in rural Georgia, Lyle began his career in music as a young adult and became regionally known after winning a songwriting contest in 2010. This led to the self-release of his debut album, gaining him national exposure, and he also began writing for other artists.

Lyle moved to Los Angeles in 2011, and in 2012 his A&R representative arranged for him to meet Danish producer Tim McEwan for a songwriting session. The two had an instant connection and began making music. Lyle and McEwan became a duo known as The Midnight and self-released their first extended play (EP) in 2014. Together, they have released two EPs, four albums, and two remix albums.

Outside of The Midnight, Lyle continues to release solo work and regularly tours around the United States. In 2016, he began a semi-regular podcast titled From The Secret Lair that includes music and self-commentary. He is married and has one child.

Early life

Jamison Tyler Lyle was born and raised in Carrollton, Georgia, the son of Mark and Deborah Lyle. His father is also a musician and is the house-guitarist for the George Britt Band, who plays at the Lowell Opry House in Carrollton.

Lyle was frequently around music growing up, being exposed to the musical genres of Country, Gospel, Bluegrass, and Classic rock. His dad was the music minister at the family's church, and he grew up singing in the choir. After initially having no interest in a music career as a child, Lyle began playing the guitar in high school, learning tabs from his father and online.

Lyle attended college at Asbury University in Kentucky for one year before transferring to Georgia State University, earning a degree in philosophy in 2008. After college, he used some money from a student loan to move to Prague and got certified to teach English as a foreign language. He then relocated to Paris and began attending Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University to satisfy the requirements for his student visa. When he wasn't working as a teacher or taking classes, Lyle performed at various bars and pubs around the city and began writing more music. He later returned to Georgia in 2009 to begin a music career. To support himself, he worked a variety of odd jobs including roofing, landscaping, food delivery, and advertising.

Early career

Working as a folk singer-songwriter since the age of 21, Lyle self-released an EP in 2009 before gaining larger exposure in the summer of 2010 when he won the Open Mic Shootout at Eddie's Attic in Decatur, Georgia, taking home a cash prize of $1000. Previous winners of the contest included John Mayer, Clay Cook, and Jennifer Nettles. He performed four original songs at the event: Closer to Me, Pretty Lady, Nashville, and The Secret. The prize money helped Lyle fund and self-release his debut album The Golden Age & The Silver Girl the following year in July. The entire album was recorded in just one day and it was later recognized by NPR World Café as one of the top albums of 2011.

Right after he finished making his debut album, Lyle moved to California to be closer to a new manager he had started working with, and he later signed a publishing deal with Pulse Recordings. He lived in an old house in Laurel Canyon that once belonged to Fleetwood Mac member Christine McVie before moving to an apartment by the beach in Santa Monica with a roommate from college. Lyle continued self-releasing music throughout 2012 and 2013, and in 2013 he was the recipient of the Harald Adamson Lyric Award for pop music from the ASCAP Foundation. During this time, he continued making occasional appearances at Eddie's Attic and toured throughout the country with other musicians, additionally playing shows at several music festivals including SXSW, Noise Pop, and MusicfestNW.

Lyle has said that his musical influences include Paul Simon, Garth Brooks, and his father Mark.

The Midnight

In 2012, Lyle met Tim McEwan at a songwriter’s workshop in North Hollywood arranged by his A&R representative Katie Donovan. Bonding over a mutual love of 80's rock, they began writing songs together and at McEwan’s suggestion based their sound on 80’s synth. The first song they wrote was WeMoveForward, and their first release as a duo under The Midnight moniker came in July 2014 with the extended play Days of Thunder. Lyle serves as the band's primary vocalist and guitarist is credited with writing the majority of the band’s lyrics. He has been the main vocalist in every The Midnight song containing vocals except for Synthetic, which was written and sung by McEwan.

Regarding his approach to writing for The Midnight, Lyle has said:

I write The Midnight lyrically (mostly) as the fantasy that I never experienced. I lean a bit utopian sometimes and let the images get grander than I experienced. I was on the debate team. I had a lisp. I was really into Syphon Filter. The fun is in the make believe.

I write everyday. Some of it goes in The Midnight folder. Some of it goes off into far far away places. It works best when Tim has a cool musical skeleton and I have a cool lyrical skeleton we can smush together and build together.

Several songs originally written and performed by Lyle have been remade or remixed as The Midnight songs, including Lost & Found, Brooklyn, and Sometimes She Smiles.

Other work

Outside of The Midnight, Lyle continues to record and tour as a solo artist. Not long after his move to Los Angeles, Lyle formed with Andrew Smith and Jack Moore the group Smith, Lyle, and Moore, whose first EP was released in August 2020. In 2012, he co-wrote two songs for Court Yard Hounds that appeared on their album Amelita. His songs have been heard on the US television shows Hart of Dixie, Private Practice, and Gossip Girl.

In January 2016, he began a monthly podcast titled From The Secret Lair, with each episode consisting of a short three to six-song album alongside commentary by Lyle. The first season featured twenty-three episodes that were recorded from his apartment in Brooklyn, New York, after which the podcast went on hiatus. It was relaunched in Fall 2020 and the second season debuted that November, with episodes now being recorded from his home studio in Atlanta, Georgia.

Personal life

Outside of music, Lyle's interests include books, Tarot card reading, philosophy, and bourbon/whiskey. In September 2014, he married Anna Jimenez. Jimenez has performed backing vocals on a few of Lyle's songs and some of The Midnight's songs. Previously residing in Southern California and New York City, the Lyles now live in Atlanta, Georgia with their son, Beau.