Ryan Manuel is a singer-songwriter based in Lawrence, Kansas. He got his start playing music in his hometown of Sedalia, Missouri after winning the 2011 MO State Fair Idol competition. He has been playing shows around the Midwest, writing and recording music ever since. Ryan has opened for Whiskey Myers, the Randy Rogers Band, William Clark Green, and many others. Since hitting the Kansas City music scene in 2012, he has released a solo album "Kansas" and his band Ryan Manuel and the Getaway released a full length, self-penned album, “On the Run."
Ryan first came to my attention in about 2015 through an introduction by the late Scott Ford who was very instrumental in making me aware of a number of artists in the so called Texas Songwriter and Oklahoma Red Dirt Music Scene. I finally caught a set from Ryan before the pandemic in the summer of 2019 when I was pleasantly surprised to find him on stage when we dropped into the music venue formerly known as Repeal 18th in North Kansas City.
Ryan reached out to me to help him get his newest single “Sold” on the radio here in Kansas City. In this conversation we had on a recent show, I was particularly encouraged by his supportive words of the Heartland music scene and willingness to NOT dismiss or write off the small towns and rural communities that deserve to experience live music. Lend your ears to a troubadour from the Heartland, Ryan Manuel.