Michael Ryan

I am an independent singer-songwriter, bandleader, and recording artist from my beloved city of San Antonio. I received a B.A. in Sociology from U.T.S.A and did all my graduate studies at Ram’s Tacoland. I was one of the principle songwriters and front man for the eclectic, experimental roots-based band Coyote Dreams. We were recipients of numerous S.A. Current Music Awards for my songwriting, as well as band and album of the year in the late 90’s. I’ve composed music and performed in numerous plays at the Guadalupe Theatre the Instituto de Mexico de San Antonio as well as for independent movies. My latest project Los San Patricios, is a Celtic, Mexican, and South Texas concatenation with a historical and cultural connection to the land and people that is rebellious by nature.  

I was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas but traveled frequently throughout the country due to
my father being in the Air Force. I grew up in a musical household, my mother always played the
piano and my older brother had a vast record collection. I listened to blues, rock, jazz, classical
music, gospel, country and Irish ballads. When I was in fourth grade, my friends and I would
borrow makeup and pretend we were in the rock band KISS. I started teaching myself guitar at
age 13 when my stepfather left us and his cheap guitar behind. It was a right-handed guitar but I
restrung it to fit my left-handed ways. In the 7th grade I started playing in garage bands with my
mates from Kitty Hawk Jr. High. By age 16, we had our first professional gig under the name
Newspeak. We were hired to open for a break-dance fashion show that same year at the Majestic
Theatre. While on stage waiting for the curtain to rise, the show was cancelled. I continued my
music education at UTSA where I was introduced to social justice causes through Amnesty
International and graduated with a degree in Sociology. I’ve always felt a strong connection to the
land in South Texas and Louisiana. Because of this I became very fond of both Native American
and Mexican cultures and would go on long trips whenever I could to travel throughout Mexico
and Europe and live with locals whenever possible. In 1995 I formed the band Coyote Dreams.
We won an impressive four San Antonio Current Music Awards – Best Band and Album for Vuela,
Best Alternative Band, and I won Best Songwriter. We toured France that summer and performed
at the Fête de la Musique in Paris. In 1999, I headed out to San Francisco to pursue the traveling
troubadour life out of my old Volkswagen van, but was coaxed into an administrative job offer in
Los Angeles working in the music industry for SESAC. I went from living out of my van to
attending the 2001 Grammy Award ceremony in a stretch limousine. After a truly exciting year, I
found myself disillusioned with the plastic personas of L.A. and broken hearted from the tragedy
of September 11th terrorist attacks. I decided to return to my beloved South Texas. I soon was
restless again and spent my summers working in upstate New York to reconnect with my Father
and to work stage production for large outdoor summer music festivals. I moved to a devastated
New Orleans following the destruction of Hurricane Katrina and played regular gigs at Irish pubs
and did extra work for the HBO series Treme and was a cardholder in the IATSE 36 Stagehand
Union. I helped friends rebuild their houses and watched an amazing city come back to life.
Following the unexpected passing of my Father, I made the decision to return back home to San
Antonio to take care of my biggest fan…my mom. With a fire in my belly and songs in my head –
and the help of dear friends at both Blue Cat Studio and Spanish Dagger Studio, I recorded and
released my first complete solo album in 2013. The Fury was co-produced by myself and
four-time Grammy award winner Joe Trevino, owner of the legendary Blue Cat Music Studio.
Many of my original compositions were accompanied with the multi-Grammy Award winning
songwriters, Augie Meyers (Texas Tornadoes), Al Gomez (The West Side Horns, Sir Douglas
Quintet). In 2017, I became a guitar instructor to south side teens for the after school music
program at the IDEA School – which provides free musical lessons to Junior High and High
School students from underprivileged communities. I was chosen as a finalist for last year’s AF
award and my project was picked for the commencement ceremony of Luminaria 2019 at the
historical San Jose Mission. I continue to play regular music gigs in South Texas and New
Orleans, while advancing my new project, Los San Patricios. This last year we were scheduled to
play the Tobin Center for St. Patrick’s Day Celebration 2020, but Covid had other plans.