Guitarist Tyler Grant will leave Emmitt-Nershi Band at the end of the year. His final performances with the group will take place at Salt Lake City’s State Room (12/29) and Victor, ID’s Knotty Pine (12/30-31). Grant plans to continue writing, teaching, playing in the Drew Emmitt Band and running Grant Central Records. Emmitt-Nershi hopes to replace Grant with a permanent bass player.

A note from Grant reads,

Hey all you wild and wooly, beautiful Emmitt-Nershi Band fans! Tyler Grant here writing you from Colorado. I have enjoyed three solid years of great music and good times in the ENB family, thanks to you. We have been one big happy family from the beginning, with the common goal of spreading some Colorado sunshine to the far reaches of our country and the world abroad. It breaks my heart to have to jump off the bus, especially at this point in time when things are going so well for the band. The truth is that I simply can’t keep up anymore with the demands that I put on myself as a guitar player. I love to play music with Drew, Bill and Andy, and we have a great time together as a band. With the success of the ENB I find myself with less and less time to pursue my personal goals of being a great Flatpicking guitarist, teacher and bandleader. Today, halfway through my thirty-fifth year, I need to shift my focus to these long-term goals. I am busy practicing guitar, writing music, running Grant Central Records, teaching lessons and workshops, writing for guitar publications, and booking my new band, The Grant Farm. You will also find me playing guitar with the Drew Emmitt Band, a position that I have held for five years. We in the ENB remain the best of friends and I hope that someday I will be able to repay my debt to Bill and Drew for all they have done for me. I cannot thank them enough for giving me the opportunity to play in their band. I would also like to thank our extended family: manager extraordinaire Christine Stauder, our agent Barron Ruth, SCI Fidelity Records, the Emmitt Family and the Nershi Family.

Ill be finishing up 2011 with ENB but please join us this weekend for my last two local shows with the band, it will be great to see you all and give thanks.