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Alumni Spotlight: From the Gazebo to the Grand Stage

Tyler, pictured kneeling, and his friends Cooper Graham, Trevor Ernst, and Christian Bokowski playing under the Gazebo at Peterson Park.

On a hot summer day in the late 2010s, a group of boys threw together a band. They advertised a show in Peterson Park during Gretna Days. They loaded up a truck with their equipment and set up their stage in the gazebo. It would be the first time Tyler Harpenau, better known as Tyler Anthony, performed at Gretna Days.

It wasn’t the last.

“I was always involved in choir, singing in church,” Tyler said. “[Music] has always been a part of me.”

And Tyler has always been a part of Gretna. He grew up on the outskirts of the city and remembers riding his bike down the dirt road to the city pool right next to that same Peterson Park. He graduated from Gretna High School in 2018, and he credits the school district with a lot of major music memories.

One memory from Palisades Elementary School still sticks with Tyler today, and it starts with none other than his music teacher, John Balcer. Balcer had recently returned from a trip as part of a documentary that followed 28 American teachers through the Serengeti. Upon John’s return, he composed original music based on this experience and had the student choir record it in a professional studio – a moment Tyler was proud to take part in.

"Even as an elementary student, music wasn't just something he participated in—it was in him," Balcer said. Tyler still remembers that experience vividly.

“We were playing all these different types of African drums and instruments,” said Tyler. “But that was just a pivotal memory… growing up in Gretna and just being able to do something like that.”

Throughout his time in the school district, Tyler remained involved. He participated in choir, show choir, musicals and even One Act. What seemed like small moments in a small Nebraska town have helped push Tyler to some bigger accomplishments.

In 2021, Tyler experienced something he’ll never forget. On a stage in Nashville, TN, Tyler proposed to his then-girlfriend. But it wasn’t any old stage. Tyler was inside the Country Music Hall of Fame theater, where he performed an original song at a Susan G. Komen benefit concert.

She said yes. The two have been married since 2023 and just welcomed their first baby, a boy, in February.

Tyler is now busy creating new memories both at home and on stage. For the first time in four years, those memories include new music.

This next release is the latest chapter in a journey that has already taken him many places. 
Since graduating, he’s taken his music throughout the Midwest, as well as to California, Texas, and even Honduras.

But he always finds himself coming back to his roots in good ol’ Gretna, Nebraska.

“I always wanted to put on an event where I can support artists and be able to pay it forward,” said Tyler. “I want to be able to get people to come out. And I don't know of any other place I would do that other than where I grew up.”

Tyler's desire to come back doesn't surprise Balcer.

"That same warmth, humility, and appreciation for the people who have encouraged him have never changed," Balcer said.

Tyler may no longer be handing out flyers for a show under the gazebo at Peterson Park, but you can still find him performing at Gretna Days. This year, he’s headlining Back to Your Roots Fest on Saturday, July 25 at the Gretna American Legion Post 216, with doors opening at 4:00 p.m. and music starting at 6:00 p.m. 

The Gretna Public Schools Foundation is proud to be a Hometown Sponsor of Back to Your Roots Fest. Through stories like Tyler’s, we celebrate the creativity, passion, and accomplishments of Gretna alumni who continue to make an impact in our community and beyond.