Événement

Jimmy Ryan w/ Ray Mason

For more than a decade, Jimmy Ryan has electrified the Boston music scene with his fusion of bluegrass pickin' and driving edge rock. Performing live, Jimmy's fingers fly across the mandolin like lightning rips through a stormy sky. His flair is energizing and his unique style leaves audiences spellbound. A blended perfection of rootsy rock, bluegrass and world music, he calls on influences ranging from Bill Monroe to Bob Marley. Over the years Jimmy has teamed up with a diverse array of talent from Catie Curtis and Sarah Borges to Warren Zevon and Morphine creating his own roots style that compliments every one of his musical cohorts.

Hence, for those who like their pigeonholes neat and tidy, Jimmy is an unsettling proposition. He plays with the old-timey pluck of a bluegrass breakdown, but he also plays it with the ferocity of a rock guitarist. What else would you expect of a left-handed rebel who began his career by playing both in a bluegrass combo (Pine Island) and a punk band (Decentz)?

That melding of styles made Ryan a pioneer of the so-called "alt-country" scene in the late 1980s when he founded and fronted the bluegrass-tinged rock band The Blood Oranges. The same eclectic approach makes him one of the most dynamic singer-songwriters on today's rich Americana scene in Boston.

His divergent, redefining styles are reflected in his latest record, "Readville," the fifth solo recording of his 30-plus-year career. From the chiming rock of "What If I Fall," to the hillbilly-soul ballad "Every Word," Ryan's unique sound and style resonates throughout.
Named after the suburban Boston neighborhood that the upstate New York native now makes his home, an area once called Low Plains, "Readville" has a spartan feel befitting the industrial history of its namesake. Featuring just three musicians, and recorded in the home studio of one of the players, "Readville" also marks the fiddling debut of Ryan.

It is remarkable that Ryan could even find the time to craft the eight new originals, let alone tackle a new instrument, given that he still tours the world, fronts his own bands and is in high demand as a player locally. If there's a big roots music gig in the Boston area, chances are Ryan will be onboard.