Daily Inspiration: Meet Trevor James Tillery

Today we’d like to introduce you to Trevor James Tillery

Hi Trevor James, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started playing guitar when I was about 12 years old and quickly joined a band that lasted from middle school through high school. Which was probably super rare. We had a chemistry together and were pretty good for our age. We wrote and played all the time and I think it really helped me learn a lot about songwriting and collaboration really quickly.

Up until I was 18 years old, I was just a shy guitar player that only ever sang in my car alone. When I graduated high school, I decided on a whim to move with an older friend of mine to Seattle. I think partly because I was a closeted christian gay boy then, I was looking for escape. Living in Seattle, I felt pretty isolated and homesick which led to me starting to write my own songs for the first time and sing them. My time in Seattle was pretty short lived and I moved back to Phoenix and started a band with the collection of songs I built up.

Fast forward a few years, after my band broke up, I decided I wanted to move to Nashville for a while to try being a “professional songwriter” of some kind. I quickly ditched that after moving and started my solo project and made my first EP called Escapist. After a brief electronic project with my brother, I went back to my solo project releasing an EP called In Moonlight in 2016 followed by my first full-length record, Together. Alone, in 2017.

For a few years after that, I was dealing with a lot of life changes and was only really able to release one-off singles for a few years. I was in a serious relationship, I got married and was dealing with a lot of changes. It wasn’t until last year, I really felt ready to write music and make an album again. In April of 2023, I began writing and recording what became my second full-length record, I Dreamt You Disappeared, which came out April 5th of this year. The writing and recording process happened almost simultaneously — I had all this music and inspiration trapped inside me wanting to get out. It was a miracle of a record and I’m very proud of it.

Presently, I’ve been promoting my new album, playing shows and writing the next record.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, definitely not a smooth road. I’ve been an independent artist my whole career so far with barely any support other than myself, my partner and a few tight knit friends I trust. Being an artist in this day and age is harder than ever. No one wants to help you until you’ve built everything yourself. You’re expected to be an social media wizard and personality to sell yourself. It’s honestly pretty depressing if I think about it too much haha. I just try to keep my head down, make good art I believe in and do my best to get it out there to people who might connect with it.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m an artist, musician, songwriter and producer. I honestly don’t know what I’m known for, maybe my melancholy style of music?

I’m most proud of my new album, I Dreamt You Disappeared and the new album I’ve started writing 🙂

I’d like to think what sets me a part is my own perspective and personality in my music. I’m a queer mid-thirties male that left christianity in my twenties. Which isn’t super rare these days, but compared to most, maybe slightly more unique ha.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Don’t expect to be successful from music and make a living from it. Do it because you can’t live without it. Everything else is a lucky gift. It will always be turbulent and success comes and goes like a wave. Most importantly, make the music you want to make and don’t settle for less.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/tjt_music
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trevorjamestillery
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/trevorjamestillery
• Soundcloud: https://www.soundcloud.com/trevorjamestillery

Image Credits
Photography by Michael Kelley
Album artwork by Nick DuPlessis + Trevor James Tillery