An award winning singer-songwriter from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Ryan's sound is a smooth ensemble of Country/Western, Roots, Folk and Jazz music. Raised in a large dairy farming family, Ryan did all he could to outrun the expected cliches of cowboy culture. In fact, he started playing in punk rock and heavy metal garage bands as a teenager, and helped to shape a popular Yarmouth music scene along with artists like Brian Borcherdt (Holy F*ck) and Paul Murphy (Wintersleep).

In college, Ryan worked part-time at a retirement home where he began taking requests to play traditional Country music. He soon found himself falling for the sounds of Hank Williams, Roger Miller and Tom T. Hall. In 2008, Ryan entered the studio with his then touring band Sunny Acres and released his debut LP Hot Times. The record won a Music Nova Scotia Country/Bluegrass Recording of the Year award, was nominated for an East Coast Music Award and named the 8th Best Canadian Country Album of 2008 by Country Music News.

In 2009, while performing in Nashville, TN during the CMA Music Festival, Ryan caught the attention of John Walker from WSM Radio. The two developed a partnership to assemble a killer cast of performers and record his upcoming album at the legendary Quad Studios. The result, Peaks and Valleys, features some of Nashville's most prolific players past and present, including Lloyd Green, Andy Leftwich, Guthrie Trapp, Bruce Bouton and multiple Grammy award-winner Alison Brown. Staying true to Ryan's old timey influences, Peaks and Valleys resonates with the vintage sounds of steel guitar, clarinet, banjo and fiddle. His songs celebrate colourful characters forged between fantasy and fiction, en route to their highest peaks and deeper valleys. The album was recently named 2010 album of the year by Country Music News (Canada).

Above all else, Ryan Cook is a touring troubadour, having played over 600 shows since 2007 Ryan has shared the stage with Taylor Swift, Rosanne Cash, Dwight Yoakam, Travis Tritt, Brandi Carlile, Sammy Kershaw, Steve Poltz, and Juno-award winning artists Joel Plaskett, Wintersleep, and The Good Lovelies. He has showcased at Music City Roots and the Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree in Nashville, TN and performed over 30 theatre shows as Hank Williams in the Maynard Collins play: The Show He Never Gave.

Photo by Mat Dunlap