ALBUM (SHOOTER OF TRUTH) BIO:

**Shooter of Truth** marks Lyal Strickland’s first full-length album in ten years, and it arrives with the weight of a life fully lived in the years between.

After the death of his father and a string of hard miles on the road in 2016, Strickland went through an emotional breakdown that left him questioning not only his place in music, but his ability to keep writing honestly. In the decade that followed, life did not stand still. He got married. He became the father of two young daughters. He stayed tied to the land and the cattle that have shaped his family’s story for generations. And in one weekend the songs returned.

The breakthrough came during a Southwest Folk Alliance conference, where Strickland wrote a batch of songs with a new kind of clarity: brutally honest, unguarded, and unwilling to dress up the truth. Those songs became the foundation of **Shooter of Truth**, an album that looks directly at alcohol, depression, old relationships, present love, failure, survival, and the strange grace of still being here.

Across its ten tracks, **Shooter of Truth** moves between solo acoustic performances, a duet, irreverent fast paced song and a collection of mid-tempo tunes rooted in country, folk, and Americana. The record is earnest and raw without being polished smooth. This is the Lyal that hasn’t been captured fully on record before. The musicians on the album all hail from the Ozarks, lending the album a sound that feels tied to place: unpretentious, and lived-in. The sound that results is shaped by the same hills, highways, church rooms, barrooms, and back roads that run through Strickland’s writing.

The album’s singles trace its emotional range. “Shooter of Truth” sets the tone with a plainspoken reckoning and the hard edge of self-examination. “Birds,” a duet with Rachel Laven, explores the strain of life on the road and the temptation to push past your limits in search of something true. It’s conversation from the edge, where recklessness and revelation can start to look uncomfortably alike. Not originally a duet, when “Birds” called for a complimentary voice, Laven was the first and obvious choice. Her addition to the song brings out an understated tension in the lyrics. “I’m Still Poor” brings Strickland’s hard-earned realism to the front, a song about the sacrifices artists make, the cost of chasing the work, and the long search for the people who understand why you keep doing it anyway.

To make the album happen, Strickland is making big changes on his farm by dwindling his cattle herd down to Herefords, the same breed raised by his grandfather and great-grandfather on his mother’s side. It is both a sacrifice and a promise: Strickland is putting his heart into this album. He’s letting go of one version of the farm in order to carry forward another, while making room for the music that has never quite let him go.

On **Shooter of Truth**, Strickland sounds like an artist less interested in reinvention than reckoning. The album is the work of a singer-songwriter older now, a husband and father, a farmer still marked by the road, singing with fewer illusions and more at stake. After ten years away from making a full-length record, he has come back with songs that do what the title promises: they aim straight for the truth and do not flinch.

FULL BIO:

Lyal Strickland is an Americana singer-songwriter, whose music is as authentic as the Ozark hills from which it hails. With a background deeply embedded in the rural landscapes of Missouri, his lyrics resonate with the experiences of small-town life, weaving tales of struggle, resilience, and the unyielding human spirit. Strickland’s songs are a reflection of his upbringing in a small town, where the values and hardships of rural life imbue every note and word.
Strickland's songs are a testament to his commitment to his roots and his versatility as an artist. His albums move through stages of life, showcasing his distinctive voice that brings his narratives to life. Each song is a window into Strickland's world, inviting listeners to step into stories woven with candor and crushing humility. 
Apart from his musical endeavors, Lyal is a dedicated seventh-generation farmer, balancing his passion for songwriting with the responsibilities of running a family farm. This commitment to authenticity is not just a part of his music but a hallmark of his existence, connecting with audiences from all walks of life.
Lyal Strickland's journey is not just about music. It's about conveying a way of life that honors tradition while embracing the challenges of the present. With each performance Strickland champions a sound that is both timeless and refreshingly genuine. At the root of it all, Strickland is a singer, songwriter, and farmer.
 

100 WORD BIO: 
Lyal Strickland is an Americana singer-songwriter, whose music is as authentic as the Ozark hills. With a background deeply embedded in the rural landscapes of Missouri, his lyrics resonate with the experiences of small-town life, weaving tales of struggle, resilience, and unyielding human spirit. 
Strickland's songs are a testament to his commitment to his roots and his versatility as an artist. His albums move through stages of life, showcasing his distinctive voice that brings his narratives to life. Each song is a window into Strickland's world, inviting listeners to step into stories woven with candor and crushing humility.

50 WORD BIO:
Lyal Strickland is an Americana singer-songwriter, whose music is as authentic as the Ozark hills from which it hails. With a background deeply embedded in the rural landscapes of Missouri, his lyrics resonate with the experiences of small-town life, weaving tales of struggle, resilience, and the unyielding human spirit.