May 21, 2009

The infamous Fly Me to the Moon Saloon is sure to be rocking this weekend, when the tremendous Ryan McGarvey returns on Saturday night.

Telluride Blues & Brews fans may recall how the Albuquerque, New Mexico phenom blew everyone away at the festival last September with his scorching guitar work, smoldering vocals and sensational songwriting.

At the ripe old age of 22, McGarvey is on the fast track, having garnered widespread accolades including the New Mexico Music Award in 2007 for “Blues Song of the Year” for his tune “Cryin' Over You,” and was again nominated in the same category last year for the beautiful ballad “Blue Eyed Angel Blues.”

Guitar Player Magazine took notice of the young buck, and featured him not once, but twice last summer and Albuquerque’s The Magazine hailed him as that city’s best musician, period.

Oh, and he’s a nice guy too, and has managed to remain humble, even though he’s already shared stages with a kaleidoscopic batch of acts like Blue Oyster Cult, Shemekia Copeland, Chris Duarte, Ian Moore, Back Door Slam, and one of his heroes, Joe Bonamassa.

Armed with fierce chops and a spicy blend of influences ranging from early delta blues to classic hard rock, McGarvey’s delicious debut, Forward in Reverse, recently reached the top 20 on the best seller’s list on CDBaby.com.

McGarvey says he's been back in the studio, and fans will get a taste this weekend. "We are currently playing new songs that will be featured on our newest recording, as well as some that didn't quite make the cut. We are literally flooded with almost too much original material, and our biggest hurdle is trying to figure which songs rise above the rest!"

He adds that the sophomore effort may have a harder edge than the first CD. "It is quite a bit heavier on the rock side of contemporary blues-rock. We are working with the award-winning engineer and co-producer John Wall at his studio, Wall of Sound, based in New Mexico. We should have a finished product ready to be released this summer."

McGarvey gets help from his rock-solid rhythm section, with K.C. White on drums and Kevin Kraybill on bass. The trio is explosive.

McGarvey adds that the band is stoked to return to town. "We love Telluride, and we adore The Fly Me to the Moon. So we are looking forward to delivering a performance that will go down in Telluride history!"

You can bet your booty on that, as the band is on fire. Be there to welcome the marvelous Ryan McGarvey back to town on Saturday night, and look for the band to tear it up at the 1st Annual Mile High Blues fest in Denver, which is slated for August. Blues-alicious!