Ryan Toohey

Ryan Toohey is a 21-year old blues-roots-folk-rock artist from Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast. Ryan and his band whip up an infectious jam session, blending acoustic guitar, electrified slide guitar, djembe drums, stomp box, blues harp and acoustic bass. The young singer-songwriter was raised on a diet of jazz and blues classics, and is today influenced by artists such as Bob Dylan, Ben Harper, Tim Buckley, Tex Perkins, Nick Drake and Jeff Buckley.

Ryan and his band whip up an infectious jam session, blending acoustic guitar, electrified slide guitar, djembe drums, stomp box, blues harp and acoustic bass.

The young singer-songwriter was raised on a diet of jazz and blues classics, and is today influenced by artists such as Bob Dylan, Ben Harper, Tim Buckley, Tex Perkins, Nick Drake and Jeff Buckley.

He began gigging around the coast and Brisbane in mid 2003, and within months found himself supporting didgeridoo bluesman Xavier Rudd at sold-out concerts. A string of other impressive support spots followed ? iOTA, Dirty Lucy, The Beautiful Girls, Jodi Martin and Carus.

In February 2004 his debut album Space In Your Stride was released independently through MGM.

Space In Your Stride was an impressive debut which demonstrated his strong songwriting and inspiring guitar skills. Triple J picked up the track Cotton Ball, with its warm and flowing melody, killer guitar solo and driving djembe beats. Radio stations also paid close attention to the song Late Night Lovers, which exposed Ryan's haunting falsetto vocals, and the track Clown Train Blues, which laid bare his deep connection to rhythmic blues music.

The Sunshine Coast has embraced Ryan, one of the few musical exports to emerge from the region. He has been plastered on the covers of street press magazines and invited to headline local music festivals. The rest of the country has begun to catch on, thanks to regular tours, radio airplay and word of mouth.