Ryan Montbleau, a talented singer/songwriter/guitarist, recently performed a series of solo shows at The Barley Pub, part of the venue’s Tuesday residency series. Through the encouragement of a good friend, and to satisfy my curiosity, I caught snippets of Montbleau’s first couple of performances before catching two sets on the last night of his run.

The emphasis of the show I attended was on Montbleau’s imaginative original tunes. The lyrics to his songs are like little snapshots of everyday experiences seen through the lens of his imagination. “Already There” had a dreamy travel oriented theme played over a subtle swing feel, while Montbleau’s most recently written song, “Love and Love Lost,” was a wonderful ballad about the joy and sorrow to be found in relationships. The music that Montbleau writes for his lyrics is a wonderful blend of folk, blues and R&B, with a touch of jazz for added richness. Two tunes that caught my ear with this unique blend were the driving “I’m Around” and “Tell Me Another.” Montbleau also offered up a few nicely arranged cover tunes, including a superb version of Stevie Wonder’s “Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday” and Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright.”

As a singer, Montbleau has a very distinctive and original sound, much like Reid Genauer from the Assembly of Dust, something I found very refreshing to hear. As a guitarist, Montbleau is a formidable player, with good technique and a strong rhythmic sense. He applies a percussive approach that helps bring out the rhythmic nature of his tunes and gets many of his fans dancing away in front of the stage, something I’ve rarely seen in a solo show like this.
Ryan Montbleau is the real deal. Try to catch him when he’s playing in the area, for this is an artist who is truly on his way.