Melody & Tyler came from Logan Utah where they had their own careers in the making. Tyler Forsberg was a drummer in a very successful band, Blind Iris, who achieved a growing amount of recognition with well known and highly circulated albums, a large cult following, and their song ‘Drive’ was featured on Tony Hawk’s Underground video game all with in just a few years. Upon the bands break up, Tyler began learning guitar and cover songs. Melody was a solo singer-songwriter in the style of Sarah McLaughlin, and Jewel, and had yet to perform at more than open mics and house shows. With little to no experience, Melody tried out for American Idol in Seattle Washington to no avail and shortly moved back to Utah with her family where she decided it was time to put her motivation where her mouth was and made a promise to push into the music she loved and become a full time musician. Melody & Tyler met in Logan Utah and began playing cover songs and a few originals and decided to start booking shows. Not long after, they started alternating opening spots for each others gigs rarely playing together as a duo.
Melody & Tyler moved to Salt Lake in October of 2007 and made a deal to put music first. They started booking late weeknight shows playing sometimes as a duo, but mostly solo, at any place that would take them and played a slower country, pop rock style like Melody’s original inspirations also performing solo sets at coffee shops and restaurants.
In 2008 Melody & Tyler founded the Acoustic All-Stars Music Festival. The Festival was based on the idea that the local talent of singer songwriters and one man band genres deserved the same privileges, promotion, and opportunities as a full band. In July 2008 the first Acoustic All-Stars Music Festival was held at The Star Bar in Park City, Utah. It was 2 nights of multiple acts and was a great place for musicians to network. At the 2009 AAS festival, Melody & Tyler moved from solo acts to a duo called Melody W/ Tyler Forsberg, and soon after changed their name to Melody & Tyler in early 2010. The festival continued in The Star Bar, growing to a 3 night festival, but a management change caused the festival to find a temporary home at The Downstairs in Park City in 2011. In its 5th year the festival has found a home at Fats Grill in Sugarhouse for 2012 with hopes of recreating the home that The Star Bar originally furnished. The Acoustic All-Stars Music Festival holds true to its idea with no ‘headliners’, no special treatment, all great music, and a showcase of some of the best music you’ve never heard, giving the low man on the totem pole a leg up and giving its performers a chance to promote their show as well as others and make a little cash with its own Pay Yourself Ticket process. http://www.acoustic-allstars.com
In September 2011, Melody & Tyler embarked on their first official Tour through Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Their upcoming tours in 2012 will include Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Wyoming. They plan to travel East in 2013. Their First duo Album, ‘i bleed music’ has sold extremely well for a unsigned indie band, and is the beginning of their transition from a slow acoustic duo to a rockin’ group with a one man band sound and strong bluesy, rock/pop, female vocal sounds.
Melody & Tyler have opened for such acts as J.R. Richards of Dishwalla (Counting Blue Cars), Automatic Love Letter, Meg & Dia (Dia was a finalist on The Voice this past summer), and many other great Local acts and touring bands. They won a Posty Award for Best Acoustic Band, were nominated for best Folk Artist/Band IAMA Award (Intermountain Acoustic Music Association), and have been featured in NOW Salt Lake Magazine several times in the past 4 years as well as a cover story for the Acoustic All-Stars Music Festival in 2010 in the same magazine. In 2008 they played over 100 shows with almost all of them booked on their own. They’re avid activists for human and minority rights, heavily promote a better musical community, are co-founders of the Utah Musician’s Breakfast Club (a meeting of musicians once a month to share shows and opinions), and members of ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers). Melody Pulsipher has been the undisputed best female vocalist on musicmates.com for 2 years and counting, and Tyler Forsberg currently plays drums with The Brian Bingham Band.
Melody & Tyler’s first full length Album will be available early 2012 and they will be performing more and more through Utah and the U.S. Watch their schedules to see if they’re coming to your town and feel free to contact them about performing.
