Tyson Ray’s music can be described as country, indie, folk, and even rock but what makes this singer songwriter special? He captures the best aspects of numerous genres and harnesses them into one unique sound. If you’ve had the pleasure to see Tyson perform you’ve seen the raw emotion of Dermot Kennedy, the grit of Brett Emmons (The Glorious Sons), and the story telling charisma of Donovan Woods.

TRB began with his “Sinner” EP in 2018, followed by a collection of six singles and two music videos in the following 2 years. Growing and learning as an artist TRB continues to write about family, travel, love and all the tribulations we all struggle with in our daily lives and is currently releasing his debut full length album “Will”.

In the past his style has been compared to songwriters like Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Eddie Vedder. Although he draws inspiration from artists like Dermot Kennedy, Ziggy Alberts, Gregory Alan Isakov, and Donovan Woods. In the past three years he has played with some incredible artists. Most notably at the University of Lethbridge “Fresh Fest” (Wintersleep. Hollerado, Jocelyn Alice) in 2018 and since that time he’s been so lucky to have played with great Canadian Artist such as Craig Cardiff, Mike Edel and Royal Foundry.

In this interview spotlight, I chat with Tyson Ray Borsboom about his latest music, challenges, technology and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)

Lethbridge, AB, Canada

My  style is a indie- folk pushing the boundaries of bluegrass, Americana and even country at times. I love a soothing slide guitar that sometimes leads into a driving lick that makes you wanna swing and dance. It seems like it can be pushing many genres at a time but we create whatever moves us and sometimes it crosses boundaries. 

What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?

Listening to some off my greatest idols like Caleb Followill, Yannis Phillinakis, Alex Turner, and Julian Casablancus I knew how passionate I was about music. The only thing ive every loved in life was live music shows, listening to music and playing music. Once I finally realized I didn’t need to partake in a common career desk job, I started to pursue music full time. With songwriters like Dermot Kennedy, Ziggy Alberts and Dallas Green been a driven force behind my Folk style routes, I wrote more and more every day. 

Every time one person shows the smallest appreciation for your music it gives you the power to move forward with such passion. Makin people happy and bringing them together is what music is all about, making you feel something that nothin else can evoke. That’s what keeps me going. 

How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?

Moving from my old traditional folk style this new album I’ve brought in a full band with all of my best mates. I haven’t decided if I want to be a acoustic artist or tour with a full band yet, but I don’t mind going through the strokes and finding out in time. that’s what life is all about, trial and error. all I know is I look forward to being involved in this industry every day and I’ve never found anything else I love as much as music. 

Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this over saturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?

Indie musicians all face the same issues, getting noticed in an over saturated market. From booking cross country shows, to opening for some of your favourite local talents, this age it just gets harder and harder to break new ground. 

Technology obviously helps. Having listeners half way across the world, getting blow to write about you and making new friends that have his stumbled onto your music is an amazing thing that I never take for granted. 

What was the last song you listened to? 

Alps – Novo Amor

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

Vinyl always, I’m all about the physical retro style. Nothin beats the quality and listening to an album you love front to back.

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why? 

Spotify, I just like the layout. (However I do love bandcamp and it very useful in the university circuit)

Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?

Instagram I respond to everything, send me a personal message I love to hear what songs you guys are vibing. 

Check out my website I have a ton of fresh merchandise 🙂

Anything else before we sign off?

A great friend once told me if you learn anything from me in this life remember this “Above everything, always remember to be honest”