Ryan Laird

After hundreds of festival circuit gigs promoting two independent albums throughout his teens, and a two year stint studying jazz as a guitar/voice major at Toronto's Humber College, Canadian singer/songwriter journeyman Ryan Laird left his rural Ontario home for Nashville with little more than his guitar, the clothes on his back, and his 1995 Honda Civic. "I made friends quickly, and ended up living in people's basements and pitching tents in backyards for the first year or so I was in Nashville," says Laird. Ryan recently made his mark as an innovator in self-promotion. He cashed in his life savings to put up a huge billboard on Music Row in Nashville with a picture of himself holding a note to country superstar Taylor Swift reading, "Hey Taylor - I LOVE your music. Will you produce my album?" This bold move attracted major media attention across North America, with Swift herself taking notice and number one country radio personality Blair Garner labeling Ryan "The Voice of Country Future". Three hundred songs later, Ryan is thrilled to be working on his major label debut with CMT Canada. Laughing, Ryan says, "I'm so glad I stuck to my dreams. I don't know how to do anything else!"