Kyle Gray Young is a Finnish American singer-songwriter living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has released 11 albums, 30 books of sheet music, and has been performing professionally for more than 20 years. Kyle has also been teaching private lessons for 11 years. Kyle’s Sheet Music Shop has become the number one destination on the web for high quality guitar, banjo, and ukulele sheet music.

Experience

Live performing, September 2000 - current

  • Live solo acoustic guitar and vocal performances
  • 50+ original songs in English
  • 300+ covers of English songs
  • 100+ covers of Finnish songs
  • Occasional piano, banjo, and ukulele accompaniment 

Kyle’s Sheet Music Shop, June 2021 - current

  • Specializing in guitar, banjo, ukulele tablature
  • Arrangements of pop/rock tunes for small chamber ensembles
  • 4,000+ sales
  • 1,600+ customers
  • 130 additional pieces published with Hal Leonard via ArrangeMe

Kyle’s Banjo Club, August 2021 - current

  • 600+ members
  • 10 free tablature transcriptions/arrangements every month
  • Monthly newsletter with playing tips and history about each song
  • VIP Lounge with 3-4 extra transcriptions/arrangements per month

Teaching, January 2014 - current

  • Private lessons for guitar, banjo, ukulele, composition, arranging, and recording technology
  • Group classes for guitar and ukulele beginners
  • Custom lesson plans to match the individual learning style of each student
  • Guitar specialties: rock, jazz, blues, country, classical, plectrum, and fingerstyle
  • 5-string banjo specialties: bluegrass, clawhammer, old-time, and classic

Recording Artist, 1997 - current

  • 11 albums released
  • Overdub drums, keyboards, guitars, vocals, etc.
  • Produce, mix, and master final recordings for distribution
  • Create artwork, write liner notes, register copyrights, etc.
  • Submit work to streaming platforms
  • 100,000-120,000 yearly streams on terrestrial and online radio stations/streaming platforms
  • Fluency with Logic Pro
     

Grants & Awards

  • Finlandia Foundation National - $3,000
    Writing a memoir about personal growth through connecting with Finnish heritage
  • Central Minnesota Arts Board, Individual Artist Award, FY 2025 - $3,500
    For work with Kyle’s Banjo Club
    1 of 8 Central Minnesota artists selected
  • Central Minnesota Arts Board, Teaching Artist Roster Program, FY 2025
    1 of 12 Central Minnesota artists selected
  • Minnesota State Arts Board, Creative Individuals, FY 2025 - $10,000
    Transcribe two more historical banjo method books into tablature, 406 tunes total
    Arrange as many as possible for ukulele
    Research and write detailed introduction for each book
  • Central Minnesota Arts Board, Artist Career Development, FY 2025 - $4,000
    Transcribe all 32 extant banjo tunes composed by women between 1884-1964
    Prepare banjo tablature book with these compositions
    Write biography for each of the 15 female composers
  • Minnesota State Arts Board, Creative Individuals, FY 2024 - $10,000
    Transcribe five banjo books from 1865-1872, 325 songs total
    Prepare banjo tablature editions of each book
    Prepare ukulele arrangements of each book
    Research and write detailed introduction for each book
  • Minnesota State Arts Board, Creative Support for Individuals, FY 2023 - $9,980
    Transcribe all of the music of Horace Weston, 24 banjo solos & 3 band arrangements
    Research and write a detailed biography about Weston
    Arrange Weston’s 1880s band music for modern high school band instrumentation
  • Minnesota State Arts Board, Creative Support for Individuals, FY 2022 - $5,886
    Transcribe two historical banjo methods from 1855 and 1861, 194 tunes total
    Research and write detailed introduction for both books 
    Arrange 86 of these songs for ukulele
  • Central Minnesota Arts Board, Pandemic Recovery for Individuals, 2021 - $4,957
    Arrange traditional Finnish folk tunes for banjo, guitar, piano, ukulele, and violin
    Research and write detailed introduction for each book
    Record album of 15 of these arrangements for global distribution

 

Press

 

Discography

Singles

  • The Missing Years, September 2023
  • Loveless, March 2022
  • In Your Eyes, February 2021
  • If You Could Read My Mind, December 2013 (Gordon Lightfoot cover)
  • A Kiss Wouldn’t Hurt, May 2010
  • Rough Draft, January 2010
  • Born At the Wrong Time, July 2009
  • First Morning Light, February 2006
  • I Need You, July 2002

Albums

  • Ancestral Melodies: Ancient Finnish Folk Tunes Reimagined, July 2022, digital
  • No Cover Charge, February 2018, digital
  • Solo Sessions, October 2011, digital
  • Songs For the Moon, May 2010, CD & digital
  • The Look of Things to Come, July 2006, CD & digital
  • Somewhere In the Middle, November 2002, CD & digital
  • Breaking The Silence, December 2001, CD & digital
  • A New World, July 2001, CD & digital
  • The Nomadic Soul, March 2001, CD & digital
  • Diamond In the Rough, December 2000, CD & digital
  • Why Should I Speak Since I Know Nothing?, September 1997, cassette

 

Sheet Music Publications

Guitar

  • BMG Plectrum Guitar Tablature, 4th edition, March 2024, 80 tunes in guitar tablature, ebook
  • Oscar Moore Guitar Solos, February 2024, five tablature transcriptions, ebook
  • Easy Christmas Tunes for Fingerpicking Guitar, November 2022, 20 Christmas songs arranged, ebook
  • Celtic Winter, November 2021, 20 Celtic folk tunes arranged for guitar, ebook

Banjo

  • Kyle’s Banjo Club, August 2021 - ongoing, 10 free songs every month with ebook
  • Ladies in the Parlor, March 2025, 32 songs from the first women who composed banjo music
  • The Banjo & How to Play It, February 2025, 39 songs in tablature, ebook
  • The Banjoist, December 2024, 70 songs in tablature, ebook
  • Buckley’s Guide for the Banjo, November 2024, 106 songs in tablature, ebook
  • Converse’s New & Complete Method for the Banjo, July 2024, 80 songs in tablature, ebook
  • Banjo Without a Master, May 2024, 30 songs in tablature, ebook
  • Phil Rice’s Method for the Banjo, April 2024, 64 songs in tablature, MelBay print & ebook
  • The Life & Music of Horace Weston, February 2024, 25 songs in tablature, complete biography, ebook
  • Buckley’s New Banjo Method, February 2023, 138 songs in tablature, ebook
  • Briggs’ Banjo Instructor, December 2022, 56 songs in tablature, ebook
  • Celtic Winter, November 2021, 20 Celtic folk tunes arranged for banjo, ebook

Ukulele

  • Converse’s New & Complete Method for the Banjo, July 2024, 80 songs arranged for ukulele, ebook
  • Banjo Without a Master, May 2024, 30 songs arranged for ukulele, ebook
  • The Music of Horace Weston, April 2024, 25 songs arranged for ukulele, ebook
  • BMG Magazine’s Ukulele Solos, January 2024, 12 tablature transcriptions, ebook
  • Phil Rice’s Method for the Banjo, May 2023, 64 songs arranged for ukulele, ebook
  • Buckley’s New Banjo Method, February 2023, 30 songs arranged for ukulele, ebook
  • Briggs’ Banjo Instructor, December 2022, 56 songs arranged for ukulele, ebook
  • Celtic Winter, November 2021, 20 Celtic folk tunes arranged for ukulele, ebook

Finnish publications

  • Ancestral Melodies, July 2022, Finnish folk tunes, six separate ebooks
    25 fingerstyle guitar arrangements
    25 piano arrangements
    25 soprano/tenor ukulele arrangements
    25 baritone ukulele arrangements
    26 5-string banjo arrangements
    27 treble clef/violin/flute arrangements

 

Live performance highlights

Pork Fest, September 23, 2000, Gages Lake, IL

  • Solo acoustic guitar and vocal
  • First gig
  • 16 years old
  • Performed two hours of cover songs from the 60s and 70s

Lucille’s, 2001-2003, Chicago, IL

  • Acoustic guitar and vocal
  • Performances on 3rd Sunday of every month
  • Performed alongside Corky Siegel, Tom Dundee, James Lee Stanley, Rich Prezioso, Jacquie Manning, and others
  • Legendary folk music venue in Lincoln Park

Lot 49, jazz trio, 2002-2010, various venues, Lake County, IL

  • Electric guitar and vocal
  • Josh Langhoff on piano, Jim Hagerman on drums
  • 95% of the music was improvised on the spot

Themestock I, October 7, 2012 - Smith’s Olde Bar - Atlanta, GA

  • 30 musicians from around the country performing in one show
  • 2 solo acoustic guitar and vocal performances
  • 12 songs supporting other musicians on bass, acoustic guitar, and vocals
  • Performed alongside Christian Nesmith, Matt Brown, Paul Melançon, and others

Themestock II, October 13, 2013 - Smith’s Olde Bar - Atlanta, GA

  • 60 musicians from around the world performing in one show
  • 1 original song performed on electric guitar and lead vocal with supporting band
  • 6 songs supporting other musicians on vocals, electric guitar, and organ
  • Performed alongside Lee Flier, Pattie Noah, Bill Shaouy, and others

FinnFest USA 2024, July 26 & 27, 2024 - Duluth Entertainment Convention Center - Duluth, MN

  • Solo acoustic guitar and vocal
  • 2 sets of all-Finnish music at the Tori stage
  • 22 songs total
  • Performed modern Finnish pop/rock hits by Egotrippi, Anna Puu, Juha Tapio, and others

FinnFest USA 2025, August 1-3, 2025 - Duluth Entertainment Convention Center - Duluth, MN