Ryan McMahon likes to tell people he’s a late bloomer. But when looking at the body of work the 43-year-old from Ladysmith, British Columbia has amassed since 2006, he certainly has made up for lost time. With six releases under his name and two with his side project Lion Bear Fox, Ryan has established himself as one of western Canada’s most prolific singer/songwriters, leading to multiple Vancouver Island Music Awards and supporting slots for Burton Cummings, Tom Cochrane, Mother Mother, Lee Harvey Osmond and others.

The latest addition to Ryan’s catalogue is Live Now, his first album since 2019’s In Line For A Smile, and a collection he has been eager to share since the pandemic forced him to pause all musical activity. The creation of Live Now began in early 2022 with the recording of “One More Fire,” arranged through the help of Juno-nominated country artist Aaron Pritchett.

Ryan explains, “Although we have stylistically sonic differences, Aaron’s been a great friend to me and my music since we connected at a charity event a few years back. We tracked One More Fire as a stand-alone single at Vancouver’s Warehouse studio, with Aaron’s son Jordan and his fiancée Danielle handling production, along with engineer Sheldon Zaharko [Steve Dawson, Matt Anderson, Billy Talent]. We all found working together so organic and enjoyable that we decided to build an album around that first session.”

9pm show

$17.50 Adv / $20 Door