Tyler Cates is a musician, guitarist, vocalist, performer, composer, producer, and educator. He has been playing professionally since 2006 and has an accomplished resume that spans the areas of live performance and studio production. 

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Tyler grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, where picked up the guitar at age 11 thanks to some not-so-subtle encouragement from his father. It was love at first strum, and his obsession would follow him to college at Western Carolina University, where he studied guitar and majored in commercial and electronic music. It was during that time when he joined his first professionally touring band, a 10-piece Afrobeat ensemble "The Afromotive". During his tenure from 2006-2008, with another run in 2011, he played guitar on their self-titled debut album and toured nationally, performing at venues and festivals throughout the country. "Afromotive taught me so much about locking in with the rhythm section and providing support for the song. I also got to learn the in's and out's of being in a real road dog band," Cates says, "and luckily I had some very understanding professors at the time that allowed me to finish my degree while doing all that traveling!".

 

After graduating in college, Tyler relocated to Atlanta, Georgia in the fall of 2008. He began interning at a local recording studio and performing orignal music under the band name "Taste". It was during this time that he began working with a local producer who at the time was developing a 17-year old female rapper, who turned out to be Iggy Azalea. "That is one of my favorite recollections of the early Atlanta days", says Tyler. "I clearly remember the SESAC showcase we performed at, backing her up on guitar. It was my first brush with the big time". 

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Not long after that, a chance correspondence with an old friend from his college days would lead to his introduction to one of his most life changing and influential collaborators: the Grammy Award-winning J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. Starting with "Maybach Music IV" and "Sixteen" on Rick Ross' Grammy-nominated 2012 album "God Forgives, I Don't", Cates has provided guitar for a string of classic JL-produced tracks for major label hip hop and RnB artists. Their collaboration also led to an original dance music project, "Lazy Americanz". The project began in earnest at the end of 2013, when they perfromed a well received late night concert at Atlanta's famed Terminal West venue. They also played a string on concerts while finishing their EP in 2014, including two nights at the legendary Red Rocks Ampitheater in Morrison, CO. Their debut EP was released on June 30, 2015. 

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As a performer, Tyler has shared stages with iconic artists such as Cee Lo Green, The Backstreet Boys, 2 Chainz, STS9 and many more. Most notably, he completed a national tour in 2017 supporting Matchbox 20 and Counting Crows as an auxiliary guitar/keyboard player with the Nashville-based duo Rivers and Rust.

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Tyler still resides in Atlanta, GA and when he doesn't have a guitar in his hand he's spending time with with his wife Liz and their Boston Terrier Roxy.