Fort Macleod’s own Ryland Moranz performs at the Empress Theatre on Friday, Nov. 10 as part of the Center Stage Series.
Fresh off a tour in Australia and New Zealand, Fort Macleod’s son, Ryland Moranz, is returning to town as the third show in the Empress Theatre’s 2023-’24 Center Stage Series on Friday, Nov. 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Moranz, who primarily pens songs that are “rustic alt-country and poignant folk,” is coming into his own in these strange times.
With his first album Hello New Old World and years of international touring under his belt, both as a solo act and as a member of Leeroy Stagger and the Rebeltone Sound, Moranz has stepped into the great beyond, empathetically exploring his own stories and the stories of others.
His newest album, XO, 1945 takes a passionate look at the world we live in and the people who inhabit it.
Populated by real and imagined heroes and villains, the everyday and the extraordinary, the trials of life and matters of the heart, Moranz’s compositions span bygone days, the here and now, and what may yet be to come.
Continuing in the grand tradition of great storytellers, Moranz channels the templates determined by Townes Van Zandt, John Prine, and Blaze Foley.
XO, 1945 was nominated for the Canadian Folk Music Awards Contemporary Album of the Year in 2021.
Some of his performance highlights include the 2023 Calgary Folk Music Festival, Americanafest in Nashville, Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Scotland, Canmore Folk Fest, Rifflandia in Victoria, B.C, Folk Alliance International in Kansas City, Wide Cut Weekend and Blockheater Festival in Calgary, South Country Fair, and house concerts across the country.
Moranz is also a visual artist, session musician, audio engineer, digital audio researcher and experienced tour manager.
He often tours with his band, His Darkest Secrets, comprised of his Rebeltone Sound compadres Tyson Maiko on upright bass, Kyle Harmon on drums and Michael Ayotte on keyboards, accordion, percussion.
In his spare time Moranz also plays with Barney Bentall, John Wort Hannam, JJ Shiplett and others.
Moranz is also in the process of recording his first bluegrass album together with Dan Fremlin, a nationally recognized and accomplished bluegrass mandolin player and songwriter who performs with the Blue Wranglers as well as Barney Bentall’s Caribou Express.
Tickets to see Ryland Moranz are available at www.macleodempress.com, by calling 403-553-4404 or at the Box Office on Main Street.
Up-coming Center Stage Concerts:
- David Francey with Terra Spencer, Feb. 8.
- Gordie MacKeeman and His Rhythm Boys, Feb. 29.
- John Reischman and The Jaybirds, April 19.
