Hailing from Rochester, N.Y., it was in Tacoma, Wash. that Ryan Van’s music was born. In a short period of time, Van became one of the most prolific musicians and songwriters in the Northwest.

In late 2001, Van returned to Arizona, this time to Sedona, where he began to finish a project started in Tacoma. The collective work became Van’s 2004 debut independent release, “Monkey.”

It was 2005 when Van met Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum Cargo Records recording star Micki Free, who later hand selected Van to be a regular opening act for him. In 2006, Van hung up his career in journalism to take his songs on the road, and to promote his June 2006 full-length independent studio release, “Approxi-Mental.”.

Ryan Van's Bio

Hailing from Rochester, N.Y., Ryan Van headed west to Flagstaff, Ariz. in January 1991. It wasn’t until a move to the Pacific Northwest in the late 1990s that Van began his artistic journey when living in a 100-year-old apartment building in Tacoma, Wash., where the residents are mostly musicians, poets and artists.

It was in Tacoma Van’s music was born. In a short period of time, Van became one of the most prolific musicians and songwriters in the Northwest. His catalogue of original music quickly grew to an astonishing number.

It was during this time that Van began the task of juggling his music lifestyle with his professional life ¾ as a newspaper journalist. From the high-pace of the newsroom during the daytime hours straight to the underground coffee shops and stages of downtown Tacoma at night, Van began to showcase his early songs to an audience of craving artists fed up with the same-old same-old.

In late 2001, Van returned to Arizona, this time to Sedona, where he began to finish a project started in Tacoma. The collective work became Van’s 2004 debut independent release, “Monkey.” Van and a small group of other Sedona artists were persistent in their pursuit of venues in which to play original music in a town of night clubs that catered to cover bands. It wasn’t long until local original talent was exhumed from basement coffee shops into the prime time slots of Friday and Saturday venues. Van and others began defining the Sedona sound, outside the boundaries of New Age, which so many associate with the region.

It was 2005 when Van met Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum Cargo Records recording star Micki Free, who later hand selected Van to be a regular opening act for him. In 2006, Van hung up his career in journalism to take his songs on the road, and to promote his June 2006 full-length independent studio release, “Approxi-Mental.”.

For more on Ryan Van, visit www.ryanvanband.com.