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Ryan McMahon coming to East Kootenay
Vancouver Island based singer-songwriter Ryan McMahon is kicking off 2019 with the release of his sixth full-length album In Line For A Smile on February 1.
McMahon will also be starting off the New Year on the road, with tour dates in Alberta and B.C., beginning January 17 at Golden’s Jita’s Cafe (Red Couch Sessions Taping), followed by a Jan. 20 performance at Fernie’s The Arts Station and a Jan. 23 show at Cranbrook’s Auntie Barb’s Bakery.
In Line for a Smile is a collection of songs about the lack of human social connection in the world today, the self-help racket, and the need for the human race to place value on family, friends and the enrichment of relationships. The first single ‘Too Tired for Love’ is a satirical upbeat number expressing the exhaustive state the world is in with everyone trying to keep up profiles of fake happiness while the world is in a state of chaos.
As an artist in 2018, Ryan McMahon was not unfamiliar with the struggles that the demands of a social media presence can place on relationships. He himself has been guilty of dragging the computer and phone to the breakfast table in hopes of getting a jump on the list of posts and marketing required in a day. The video for the song is a direct telling of that story.
“The Internet makes us sad,” said Ryan. “The more we look at each other’s highlight reel, the more we falsely believe that our environment is not good enough, big enough or getting enough attention. But, the truth is, if you just tune your attention to your actual environment and are present, you’ll be much more grateful for what you have in your life, and more importantly, who you have in your life.”
With seven releases and six full-length albums under his belt, McMahon has had such a successful and enduring career that one might forget that he’s also a member of the popular folk/roots group Lion Bear Fox. Ryan cofounded the group in 2012 with songwriting colleagues Cory Woodward and Christopher Arruda, and the band was immediately named as one of the Top 20 Finalists for the 2013 Peak Performance Project in Vancouver.
Although Ryan is currently focusing on his own music, you can expect to hear from Lion Bear Fox again in 2019, he says.
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