Published on 29, Jun 2023

Stomp, Shout, and Howl: The Triumphant Comeback of Uncle Ryano

There are a lot of voices in the country music space, and the past ten years have opened up the doors for musicians to bring their own sound and broadcast their unique, powerful messages to a more receptive audience. However, the only thing we love more than an everyday success story is a comeback story. Today, we’re going to tell you the tale of Uncle Ryano, a prolific musician who broke free of his chains and came back to country with a bang, bang, bang.

Early in his career, Uncle Ryano used to play in a number of bands from Oklahoma, Louisiana, and east Texas until he moved out to Nashville in ‘93. Here, he signed his first publishing deal with Hayes Street Music and began to carve his path in the mainstream music space. His first record deal came in ‘95 with Imprint Record. His single “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind” scored in the nation’s Top 5 behind Alan Jackson, John Anderson, and Wade Hayes, and his music video was CMT’s Hot Shot Video for eight consecutive weeks. It sounds good now, but it only gets better.

In ‘97, he created and released his album Cowboy Up with Edel America, and in 2003, he was given an experience of a lifetime. Matt Rossi wrote the album’s self-titled song “Cowboy Up” with Uncle Ryano, and he called up Uncle Ryano to tell him that the song had become “a massive rally cry in New England”. Not only that, but they’ve been playing the song at every Fenway game. It wasn’t long before the Red Sox reached out to him, and they convinced him to come out and perform. Uncle Ryano only agreed if they would fly up his mom and stepdad. Of course, they agreed.

One night as he flew up to the venue, he saw that the skyscrapers had been lit up to spell Cowboy Up!! It’s like something out of a movie, isn’t it? He got to hang out with the players and the staff before performing in front of 55,000 of “his closest friends”, and his mom was right there to join in on his celebration.

You might take all of this in and realise that this all sounds good. Where’s the comeback? Where’s the fall? Unfortunately, underneath all the glitz, glams, and unforgettable moments, Uncle Ryano was going through a number of hardships at the same time.

While his music video was doing well on CMT, Imprint Record had gone under, and just as he was wrapping up negotiations with Capitol Records, all hell broke loose between management and one of their top artists. All of the new contracts were frozen on the spot, and that left Uncle Ryano free floating. “I’d Like To See You Try” won a SOCAN Song of the Year award in 2002, but when it was nominated again in 2003, Uncle Ryano lost his grandfather, who he held dear to his heart, and his mother had been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. He formed the group Able Kane the following year, but as he was touring, he lost more family.

A brother, a sister-in-law, his mother, a miscarriage—bad news and loss fell on Uncle Ryano one after another. And like they say, when it rains, it pours.

He ended up walking away from everything, focused more on the people in his life, and began his journey of self-discovery. He jumped into different industries for work, and only indulged in the music scene throughout the years when his friends headlined at local casinos. Even though his wife and adopted daughter tried to encourage him to get back into music himself, he knew that there just wasn’t any desire.

And that could have been that—but we all know that the story doesn’t end there. Uncle Ryano didn’t realize that his first steps to a comeback were just around the corner until his accountant called him up in 2021. Fate always strikes true over the phone for him. It was at this time that his accountant said, “Hey! Billy Ray Cyrus is interested in a couple of your songs.” Seeing a golden opportunity for what it was, Uncle Ryano and Billy Ray connected over the phone, began brainstorming together, and inspiration hit like a lightning bolt.

“Working with him really got my blood pumping. I felt a revival,” Uncle Ryano says. “Working in the music machine left me disillusioned for a long time, but this reminded me of how alive music can make you feel.”

This fateful meaning gave birth to the song “Twerkin’ With A Twang”, and suddenly, as if planned by some higher power, old friends like Bryan Austin, Renaé Truex, and Ira Dean reached out to him as well. Together, they began working on his album Voices in My Head. Other talented people, like DJ KO and Kim Keyes, joined in on the album, which dropped on April 23rd.

He has since created his own music label called Bottle Rocket Records where he has the utmost creative freedom. Now that he’s back and ready to roll, Uncle Ryano is working on his next album alongside creative names like A\Villain and Jason Parfait. “I’m damn good at what I do, and I’m working with people who know how to really bring the fire!” Uncle Ryano remarks excitedly. “I wasn’t made to tiptoe, you know— I’m here to strut my stuff and get others to strut on with me.”

Uncle Ryano’s new album New West is set to release July 2023 wherever music is streamed or sold.