As they say, you can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy. Though in this case we’re talking about taking Newfoundland Country-Americana artist Chris Ryan off the island and sending him to the big city. “Last Forever,” the first single from Ryan’s upcoming album, A New Hope, is about building something you can be proud of, even if it means leaving the place you love.
Chris Ryan has been fortunate in his career. Talented, but fortunate. Newfoundland may not be the first place you think of when naming your go-to spots for country music, none-the-less he’s managed to perform as the opening act for big names likes Toby Keith.
“[Toby] might be one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met in the business!” says Ryan. “The country scene on the Rock is blooming, much like it has been through the Maritimes. We’ve been fortunate to see some of the big guys like Urban, Paisley, Vince Gill, and Toby Keith roll through and play multiple sold out stadium shows.”
It’s been opportunities like that which have opened doors for Ryan’s career, but like many Atlantic Canadian musicians, he’s had to seeking out audiences in the rest of the country to build his audience.
“As proud as I am to be from NL, there are certain boundaries and hindrances that come with living on an island in the Atlantic. I came to a point where I felt I had to spread my wings a little bit basing myself out of Ontario to try and get a little more exposure in a different scene!”
Rather than being about the necessities of sacrifice and lamenting what gets left behind, “Last Forever” focuses on pushing yourself to take the next step. Ryan explains it’s all about not being satisfied with something that is simply “satisfactory.”
“The song kind of comes from wanting to leave something to be proud of, but staying true to yourself while doing so. I feel it can relate to so many scenarios and we all want to have something to be proud of,” says Ryan.
“I’m very proud to be able to say that music is my living and career, but also just try to be a good person along with that.”
Chris Ryan will be in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick during the last week of November for a radio tour and some to-be-announced evening performances. If you’re in Sydney you can catch him at The Cave on Monday Nov 26th at 8:00pm. A New Hope is expected to be released sometime in Spring 2019.