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Ry Edwards - Indie Pop, Rock, and Folk
- Minneapolis, MN
- Singer/Songwriter
- Travels nationwide
- $550 - $7,500
Overview
Want an eclectic show that's intimate and fun? Hire Ry and enjoy a mix of 60s, 90s, and originals! Known for his beautiful singing voice, it's no surprise he's got a set list of love songs to serenade you. But beyond his pretty voice, you'll enjoy his intricate guitar riffs filling in all of the parts usually played by a full band.
Ry honed his craft inspired his favorite 60s pop, Motown and Country tunes from acts like The Lovin' Spoonful, Ben E. King, and The Everly Brothers, (in addition to the classics you know!) For an extra dose of passion, Ry also brings you the very best songs from the 90s including Pop hits from artist like John Mayer, Dave Matthews, and Smashing Pumpkins.
2 Reviews
What a cool, groovy sound Ry brought to our big social event at the Mill City Museum. Kind of a big courtyard but he was EXACTLY what we needed. I live in WI and I was trying to figure out how to bring him down for other events I'm doing.
On top of that he is so very kind and lovely to work with. You don't know, necissarily, who you are going to get when you use a third party booking like this but I feel like we won the muscian lottery. Thank you Ry! You gave our attendees something very special :)
Singing Guitarist
Photos from this event
We hired Ry to coordinate our wedding. He is a pro from planning to encore! He was helpful at every step, and we could not be happier
Rock & Roll Singer, Singing Guitarist, Wedding Singer
Response from Ry Edwards - Indie Pop, Rock, and Folk:
Thank you, Michelle! It was so fun to be there to help you and Ben celebrate your big day. You have excellent taste in music so it was a real joy to learn the songs you wanted for the service and the reception—especially your mashup requests! Thank you for requesting that I play my originals as well. Truly a joyful day!
Booking Info
Price Range: $550 - $7,500
Gig Length: 60 - 360 minutes
Languages: English
What to Expect
A versatile performer, specializing in original music inspired by the pop music of the 1960s and the 1990s, Ry has the ability to take the stage as an entertainer or provide the perfect background for your event. So let him know what you're looking for!
- Original pop tunes that dabble in different genres with hints of music from all over the globe.
Topics range from Love songs to Mental Health, Inspirational and even Spiritual.
- A concert of 60s pop tunes for a fun, upbeat retirement party or birthday
- 90s tunes for a nostalgic adult birthday or a decade-themed party at work.
Of course, it's fun to add in popular, well-known tunes so your guests can sing along. So Ry has curated a list of many of the greatest classic pop songs from the 60s and the 90s to infuse your event with some familiarity that spans generations.
Additionally, Ry is an experienced public speaker from many years acting on stage in community theater as presenting at corporate events.
For conferences, Ry can perform a Key-Note Concert to inspire your professional teams sharing stories of significant impact from his own original music, his research around the 9 core needs that help us become successful humans, and his 15-year corporate career experience becoming a leader by learning to influence without authority.
About
Born to write songs with musical moods and poignant lyrics that make you feel your humanity, Ry's 20-year career has taken him to stages in living rooms, coffee houses, parks, colleges, corporate offices, and conference stages in front of thousands to to inspire audiences through both music and speaking.
And Ry has some uniquely powerful experiences to talk about!
- Ry spent a decade turning a forbidden neighborhood into a vibrant community.
- Ry coaches people to reignite a passion for living after suffering devastating set-backs.
- Ry has changed cultures and built world-wide systems that have save companies millions.
- Ry interviewed thousands of people from all walks of life to learn the 9 human needs that can help anyone become successful.
- Ry spent 7 years wooing the woman of his dreams to become a family with 3 children
- And Ry survived supporting his wife through years of mental illness that she is now overcoming.
Through it all, he etched every victory, defeat, battle, longing, and dream into poetry and set it to music to help you while you adventure toward your own destiny.
The Minneapolis-based guitar-blazing, soul-singing songwriter, Ry Edwards, sings about work, daydreaming, love, parenting, depression, and hope over rock chords that move like jazz. His songs tell stories through emotive riffs and descriptions so vivid you might even believe they're about you.
Raised on the heavily nuanced music of 60s pop, Ry's music steals from the rhythms of Motown, the 7th chords of the Beatles and the Beach Boys, and the tenderness of the gentle and catchy ballads of the Everly Brothers and James Taylor.
Yet the strongest influence comes from Ry's musical awakening when he encountered the emotional explosions of 90s Grunge Rock bands: The Smashing Pumpkins, Soul Asylum, Collective Soul, Stone Temple Pilots, Green Day, Soundgarden, The Offspring, and early Radiohead.
The passion portrayed in songs like "Tonight, Tonight", "Self-Esteem", and "Fake Plastic Trees" comes through in Edwards' songs like "Ready to Wash", "Dominoes", and "Sparrow" off of his forthcoming "Sojourn Through the Night" album due out in 2023.
Additional Booking Notes
Requirements:
Ry can bring his own amplifier which powers both his guitar and microphone, his own mic stand. In which case all he requires is the below:
- 4' x 6' stage
- Access to one electrical outlet
If a sound system is provided, please make available:
- 1 microphone in a boom stand
- 1 direct in box for the guitar to the sound system with a 1/4 instrument cable
Services Offered
Past Booked Events
| May 17, 2023 • 6:00pm - 8:00pm | Corporate Event |
Influences & Inspiration
John Mayer - Why Georgia, 3x5, Stop This Train, and the whole "Heavier Things" album. You hear the influence through thoughtful lyricism and beautiful blends of riffs with chords.
Dave Matthews - Crash into Me, Satellite, Crush, and Ants Marching. There's a chord structure fingering some call the "Satellite Stretch." Dave uses it in many of his songs and I have used it quite a bit.
Smashing Pumpkins - Their album "Mellon Collie and the Infiniteness Sadness" mesmerized me as it explored the concept of Love with a different lens with nearly every song from the innocence of "Galapagos," to the hopeless romantic in "Lily" and "33" to the Hallmark card of "Cupid de Locke" all the way to the dark obsession of "ZERO." This album taught me to marry the depth of the subject with the beauty of the music.
Radiohead, The Offspring, Green Day, and Weezer gave another look at turning passion into music.
Neil Diamond - A wonderful singer and songwriter with great hooks, dynamics, and artfully placed breaks in the songs. Did you know he wrote "Daydream Believer" made famous by the Monkees?
The Beach Boys - Most pop songs have 3 or 4 chords. Brian Wilson's "God Only Knows" has 24 chords. Learning their songs expanded my ideas around chord structure and key changes.
The Beatles - I learned how to reverse the chord progression from the verse to create a different feel for the chorus or a bridge. And their use of 7th chords showed me how to jazz up a pop song.
Simon & Garfunkel - From "The Boxer" to "The Sound of Silence" I learned the power of story telling in a song. Every song of theirs creates a beautifully distinct emotional feeling from "I am a Rock" to "Homeward Bound."
In general, I'm not a huge country fan, but I love any music done well and bands that stand out to me as great country are The Everly Brothers, Johnny Cash, Ricky Nelson, Randy Travis, and George Straight.
I don't feel worthy to even list these next artists influences, but I love Motown! The Temptations (Just listen to "I Can't Get Next to You" I cannot keep myself from dancing to that song every time!), The Four Tops, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5 - who have some of the greatest bass lines of all time, Michael Jackson. More modern artists on the label include Boys II Men, India Arie, and Ne-Yo.
These R&B Artists probably taught me more about how Rhythm shapes a song more than any other influence.
Setup Requirements
Electrical Outlet
4' x 6' flat stage space