CANMORE – Ryan McMahon is set to spread the sounds of his new album on his 24 stop tour.
Hailing from Ladysmith, B.C., the coastal singer-songwriter will entertain music lovers of Canmore at Tavern 1883 on March 14 at 8 p.m.
McMahon has already started his tour of Alberta and B.C. with what he’s calling No Town Left Un-Toured to promote his newest album, Live Now, which was released in early November 2023.
He began putting pen to paper and building music sheets for his newest album in the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The first year of COVID I was just paralyzed, as a lot of us were. But the second year, I really kind of used that [album] to try and break out of my slump and out of my mood and my funk, and I just started writing about what I hoped things would be like when things opened up,” said McMahon.
The album has seen success since its release, amassing hundreds of thousands of plays on Spotify, with one song, Feed Your Mind, reaching more 100,000 plays on its own.
The island musician uses his tracks to reach people about his personal experiences.
“I think that the impetus in why a song would come to be has always been the same, and it’s always things that I’ve seen or things that I’ve been through, trying to process something difficult or trying to sing or communicate something beautiful that I experienced,” said McMahon.
“…especially the new album, these are things that I’m really trying to outrun, [like] depression and things like that. I’m trying to sing about them in a major key that maybe even the sound of it will make me happier in the process.”
Preceding McMahon’s fresh album, he released three albums, seven singles and two albums alongside Christopher Arruda and Cory Woodward in their band, Lion Bear Fox. McMahon has since returned to the solo act after being in the band for seven years.
“We travelled all over and released two records during that stretch, and it’s tough to keep bands together, and it ended up flaming out, but it was a wonderful, six, seven years of touring,” said McMahon. “And that's how some people found some of my solo work too. So, I'm super grateful for that.”
From his previous experience touring western Canada solo and with his band, he’s no stranger to the party scene of Canmore.
“Probably the hardest partying I’ve ever done on the road was in that town. Something just happens there. I don’t know what it is,” said McMahon.
“I love coming to Canmore. And this is a little different, it’s a new venue for one thing and everybody there has been great to work with. I think it’s gonna be a heck of a show.”
Additionally, he will be on stage in Jasper on March 18 and 19 and Field, B.C., on March 13.
For more information about the tour and tickets, visit: https://ryanmcmahon.com.
