Ryan David Orr

For almost two decades, Ryan has been a major player on the American folk scene. A singer-songwriter and experienced musician, he’s travelled all over the United States playing in many of folk music’s legendary venues. For Ryan, performing and writing is a family tradition. His grandmother played sax and clarinet and his mother was a professional folk singer. Growing up in Ashland Oregon, Ryan travelled with his mother to venues and festivals up and down the West Coast. So, it was only natural when Ryan started to join his mom on stage, playing the violin by age seven and learning the guitar at 12.

Even at a young age, it was clear that Ryan was a talented musician. He was selected to join the Northwest Children’s Honor Choir and performed in a professional production of the opera Tosca. As a teenager, Ryan began writing his own music and at 13, he moved with his mother to Tennessee to join the Nashville music scene. He continued to hone his musical talent as they moved once again to Asheville, North Carolina. He spent the next few years playing with a band and experimenting with the hard rock and grunge scene of the 1990’s. Ryan knew though that he would eventually return to his folk roots.

Ryan credits his mother as being one of the biggest influences on his career. For him, music is about storytelling and folk has always been a dynamic platform for music writing. Moving beyond the cut and dry, he can work in the symbolic and diverse tradition of legends like Carole King, Joan Baez and James Taylor.

In addition to performing original songs, Ryan has performed in musicals, acted, and trained as a massage therapist. He has a Bachelor's of Interdisciplinary Studies from Arizona State University.

-Jennie Held, award winning journalist of Steven Hero Productions