Ryan Michael Montbleau (born June 18, 1977, in Peabody, Massachusetts, United States) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He annually tours across the U.S. with the Ryan Montbleau Band.

Background

Although he received his first guitar at age nine, it was not until attending college at

Villanova University Villanova University is a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1842 and named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic university in Pen ...

that he seriously began to focus on his playing and songwriting. After college, Montbleau began playing on his own at the

House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film '' The Blues Brothers''. The first location opened at ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

, where he started working in 1999. Eventually, Montbleau began performing his original music on-stage at the House of Blues and other

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

, Somerville, and Boston area coffee shops, folk and music venues, developing a local fan base. He occasionally performed his music with a percussion player, under the duo name "Palabra", before building what would become the Ryan Montbleau Band. Montbleau eventually joined up with Matt Giannaros (acoustic upright bass, electric bass, backing vocals) Laurence Scudder (

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, backing vocals), Jason Cohen (piano, organ, clavinet,

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014 ...

) and James Cohen (drums). In 2006 the group released its first collective album, ''One Fine Color''. A sixth member, Yahuba Garcia Torres (percussion, backing vocals) toured frequently with the band. In February 2011 the band announced the departure of viola player, Laurence Scudder, and also the addition of guitarist Lyle Brewer. In October 2013 the Ryan Montbleau Band announced on their website that the current line up of members would be changing. Jason Cohen (piano, organ, clavinet,

) and Lyle Brewer (guitar) left the band to focus on family. The Ryan Montbleau Band plays upwards of 200 gigs per year.Ryanmontbleauband.com
Ryan Montbleu Band with Nils Lofgren Martin Sexton

Ryan Montbleu Band with Nils Lofgren Martin Sexton

Montbleau has opened solo/acoustic for John P. Hammond,

Melissa Ferrick Melissa Ferrick (born September 21, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter. Her song "Drive" (2000) is considered a lesbian anthem. She is a music professor at Northeastern University and at Berklee College of Music. Early life Ferrick was rais ...

, Ani DiFranco,

Martin Sexton Martin Sexton Born March 2, 1966 is an American singer-songwriter and music producer. Early life Born in 1966, Sexton grew up in Syracuse, New York, the tenth of twelve children in a working class Irish-American family. He acquired his first ...

, and

Rodrigo y Gabriela Rodrigo y Gabriela (Rodrigo and Gabriela) are a Mexican acoustic guitar duo whose music is influenced by a number of genres including nuevo flamenco, rock, and heavy metal. The duo's recordings consist largely of instrumental duets on the fl ...

. His band has also become a regular act included in the line-up at the

Gathering of the Vibes Gathering of the Vibes (often abbreviated as GOTV) was an annual four-day music, camping and arts festival that celebrated the Grateful Dead and showcased a diverse variety of music. Over the course of the event, styles would often include funk, ...

music festival in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. In the spring of 2010 the Ryan Montbleau Band toured with Martin Sexton, as his backing band and opening band. Before departing for that tour, Sexton produced the RMB's album titled, ''Heavy On the Vine,'' recorded at Camp Street Studios in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most ...

Awards

Montbleau was named the Best Local Male Vocalist in the 2007

Boston Music Awards Founded in 1987, the Boston Music Awards are a set of music awards given annually that showcase talent in the Boston, Massachusetts, area. Past shows have featured such notable talent as Aerosmith, Paula Cole, Esperanza Spalding, Boston, Ruby ...

. He also won second prize for performance in the 2007 International Songwriting Competition. Montbleau was nominated for a 2012 MTV Music Award for Best Concert Experience.

Equipment

Montbleau plays a Collings acoustic guitar model OM2H Cut, and a G&L ASAT Classic electric guitar.

Discography

*''Begin'' (2002) – Solo *''Stages'' (2003) – Solo/live *''One Fine Color'' (2006) *''Patience on Friday'' (2007) *''Stages: Volume II'' (2009) – Solo/live *''Heavy On The Vine'' (2010) *''Live at Life is Good'' (2011) – Live *''For Higher'' (2012) – Solo *''All or Nothing / Fast Car'' (2014) (with Tall Heights) *''Growing Light'' (2015) *''Stages: Volume III'' (2016) *''I Was Just Leaving'' (2017) *''Wood, Fire, Water, and Air'' (2023)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Montbleau, Ryan 1977 births American blues singer-songwriters American blues guitarists American folk guitarists American funk guitarists American male guitarists Living people Singer-songwriters from Massachusetts Guitarists from Massachusetts 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American guitarists American male singer-songwriters