Ryan O'Reilly grew up in the South of England near Winchester - an area syn… Read Full Bio ↴Ryan O'Reilly grew up in the South of England near Winchester - an area synonymous with Thomas Hardy and Jane Austen - in an Irish family with a strong shipbuilding and seafaring heritage. A healthy obsession with Bob Dylan began at the age of 14, and by 16 the first handful of songs were beginning to emerge. Ryan travelled to Toronto at 18 where he met future band mate Tyler Kyte at an open mic night in the city. After studying poetry in Dublin, Ryan moved to London and studied literature whilst playing relentlessly across the city and writing songs with increasing frequency. In late 2008 Ryan began to play with Tali Trow and David Granshaw from the Isle of Wight.

The band joined up with Spencer Cullum jr and recorded a live show at The Half Moon in Putney on St Patrick's Day 2009. After this, they were invited to play a residency at the legendary Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in Soho, the first non-jazz group to play there in the club's illustrious history. However, the band were faced with the dilemma of how to get the live album to people - without trawling the mire of the London music industry. During the summer of that year, the band stumbled across the idea of street performing in London's famous markets. Along with Patrick Kenneally and Mike Farmer the band played every week through all weathers and circumstances. The momentum the band gained through the unexpected success of their street performing meant that they could afford to record an EP in 2010 in a studio the band built in an old coach house in Brixton.

Like 'Live at The Half Moon', 'The Emily EP' was also distributed primarily on the street from the band's guitar cases. Despite a broken hand and being arrested while busking, the band built up a large enough fan-base across Europe to give them the confidence to set out on tour in January 2011. Throughout that year they travelled across 12 countries playing capital cities and fan's home towns along the way, with each show booked by the fans themselves. Their first studio album 'The Blighted Apple' was recorded at Toerag studios in London in 2011 and explores a more introspective side of Ryan's writing.

The Ryan O'Reilly Band Lyrics