Ryan Sheridan

Ryan Sheridan is a solo singer and guitarist from County Monaghan. As a teenager, he made his tentative first steps onstage in the pubs and clubs of Manhattan's Lower East Side. An intimidating environment where he was old enough to play but not to drink, the competitive nature of the scene and the city meant he had to get good quick or go home. His next destination was Glasgow, arriving there in 2004. He formed a three piece rock band called 'Shiversaint' and started to work the Scottish circuit with mixed results. The trio survived a crossing of the Irish Sea and a relocation to Dublin in 2006, but by the following year Ryan felt the band had run its course and took a two year hiatus from music to run a bar in his home town. However, a sense of unfinished business and an urge to play in public again saw Ryan back down in Dublin in 2009. He hooked up with Polish percussionist Artur Graczyk, an old friend from the dying embers of Shiversaint. Embracing the freedom of movement created by acoustic guitar and cajon (or crate to our non Spanish readers) the pair hit the streets of Dublin to eak out a living. An inventive and crafty guitarist with a powerful and expressive voice, Ryan's dynamic interplay with Artur's "four limbs good" rhythmic attack must be seen to be believed. As a songwriter, he has crammed a lot of living into his days, and this is reflected in his expressive and accessible approach to words and music. While entertaining the human traffic of Temple Bar, Ryan and Artur were spotted by his current management team. This led to a showcase at The Academy jam-packed with great and the good of the Dublin media mafia, and a subsequent record deal with leading Irish independent label Rubyworks. After a busy summer of gigging, including spots at Oxegen, Electric Picnic and Benicassim in Spain; Ryan played some high profile Irish gigs with Rodrigo y Gabriela, Mark Lanegan and Wallis Bird. His debut single 'Jigsaw' was released in September, and was an immediate hit at Irish radio and on iTunes. He will play his first headline tour around Ireland in December. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.