Ryan Montbleau
Ryan Montbleau was born and raised in the town of Peabody, Massachusetts. Although he received his first guitar at the age of nine, it was not until attending college at Villanova University that he seriously began to focus on his playing and songwriting. He began singing during the last semester of his senior year, at age 21.
After college, Montbleau began playing on his own at the House of Blues in Boston, where he started working in 1999. Eventually, Montbleau began performing his original music on-stage at the House of Blues and other Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston area coffee shops, folk and music venues, developing a passionate local fan base. He occasionally performed his music with a percussion player, under the duo name “Palabra”, before building what would become the Ryan Montbleau Band
Montbleau eventually joined up with Matt Giannaros (acoustic upright bass, electric bass, backing vocals) Laurence Scudder (viola, backing vocals), Jason Cohen (piano, organ, clavinet, Moog synthesizer) and James Cohen (drums) to form the present line-up of the Ryan Montbleau band. In 2006 the group released its first collective album, One Fine Color. A sixth member, Yahuba Garcia Torres (percussion, backing vocals) now tours with the band. The Ryan Montbleau Band plays upwards of 200 gigs per year.
Montbleau has opened solo/acoustic for many established artists including John Hammond, Melissa Ferrick, Ani DiFranco, Martin Sexton, and Rodrigo y Gabriela. In the spring of 2010, the Ryan Montbleau Band toured with Martin Sexton, as his backing band and opening band. Before departing for that tour, Sexton produced the band’s latest album, Heavy On the Vine, recorded at Camp Street Studios in Cambridge, MA.
