Ryan Montbleau has a dozen albums to his credit; he’s been a real road dog warrior with 200 shows a year for almost two decades. He’s learned a lot; about songwriting, this crazy business and especially about himself. Our interview spans so many topics (and seven songs) but the main themes seem to be emotional growth and self-reflection. Ryan is a thoughtful guy with a lot to tell. His move to Burlington, Vt has paid dividends in his mental health and his song-writing. He’s finally got a home with some semblance of a family life. He’s also spent the most time being still, probably ever. We hear the results in his latest EP called “Wood” which will be followed by releases named for the other elements of “Fire”, “Water” and “Earth”.

Ryan performed all three of his newest, live in-studio (it’s been awhile since that happened) including “Ankles”, “Perfect” and “Outside Looking In”. In between, we got to chat about his songwriting process, his experience at Vt’s Guilford Sound, his weekly livestreams, and his upcoming shows in Pittsfield (5/8) and Hatfield (5/23).

We listened to four additional tunes from Ryan’s deep catalog including his collaboration with Tall Heights on “Helplessly Hoping”, the title cuts from earlier albums “I was Just Leaving” and “Ships in the Night” as well as “Songbird”.

It was fabulous to get an in-studio guest again and I’m so glad that it was Ryan Montbleau who couldn’t have been more thoughtful and genuine. Catch a show of his if you can.