Ryan Maier is a singer-songwriter from Winnipeg, MB, Canada. Taking himself in a new musical direction and away from the usual amplified domains, Ryan now finds himself writing as a solo musician with just an acoustic guitar. Rooted in an intentionally interdisciplinary approach, Ryan fuses elements of fingerstyle folk, blues, jazz, soul, and rock while using the slide to forge bits of each into a unique musical vocabulary. If you listen on a quiet night, you will notice distinct or obscure stylistic reflections of The Allman Brothers, Leon Russell, Jason Isbell, Warren Zevon, Ray Davies, and Sonny Landreth (plus many more) among Ryan’s ongoing obsessions influences.

As a performing and recording musician, Ryan has played the electric guitar for many years - and he still plays loudly at times in a misfit musical collective called The Black Lodge. Years ago, for example, Ryan had been an on-call leadman for Winnipeg blues legend Big Dave McLean and a sideman for a time in roots-rockers Chris Goertzen & the Hazy Pilgrims (with whom Ryan played at festivals such as Trout Forest Music Festival - 2008). About Ryan’s work in the latter, note the patterned descriptions found in various reviews:

          “Ripping slide guitars […] Ryan’s sliding sounds sometimes rough and raw, at other times controlled and subdued.” – Rootstime Magazine,           Belgium

          “Wailing slide guitars” – Bruce Leperre, Winnipeg Free Press

          “Moaning slide guitars” – Winnipeg Sun

Recently, Ryan began a new phase of songwriting, with much of it focused exclusively on exploring the possibilities of the acoustic guitar. Inspiration and a spate of new songs followed quickly, resulting in his first collection of songs as a solo musician. Honouring the dictum ‘write what you want to hear,’ Ryan enjoys a well-crafted song that recombines traditional elements, highlights emotive melodies, and plays games with dynamics and words. Ryan’s slide-work then plies the limbic system. Ryan’s first demo EP of songs (Sturm und Drang) was recorded in his austere home studio (The Fretwerx) using one Shure 58 microphone and was mastered by JP Peters at Private Ear Recording in Winnipeg. As of March 18, 2024, Sturm und Drang [i.e. Storm and Stress] is now being distributed via digital distribution services (links below).

In 2024, Ryan will begin taking his new solo original acoustic songs in front of live spectators for the first time. Audiences can expect a show of skilled guitar work blending a palette of styles - delivered with a sufficient enthusiasm and humour to support a set of themes ranging from bleak to funerary.   

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