Ryan Sheridan concert
Diana Rissetto
Rockwood Music Hall, June 30th, 2017
I have always been a huge fan of all things and people Irish (I actually just had to look up to see if there was a word for it. Apparently, there is a word, and that word is “Hibernophile”), so I was very excited to hear Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist Ryan Sheridan was in town and to check him out.
Sheridan has a very interesting past, beginning his career at just 16-years-old when he toured with Riverdance for two years, and soon danced at the Gershwin Theatre (now the home of WICKED) for two years. Sheridan loved dancing in New York, but he couldn’t stop thinking about playing the guitar, and off he went, to travel the world and write songs.
It is so easy to forget how lucky we are that we can go to tiny venues like Rockwood Music Hall and see such an intimate performance from somebody as talented as Ryan Sheridan. Very affable and charming, with, of course, quite a melt-worthy accent, Sheridan’s songs tell stories and I was able to shut my eyes and pretend I was back on one of my precious trips to my beloved Ireland.
He closed the show with “Home”, noting that we are living in tough times right now, but there are always possibilities and hope right around the corner.
Take a breath and try to think about home/No one said it was easy, on your own/We learn the hard way it seems/Chasing dreams, running miles from where you’re from, to lift your feet off the ground/Fly too high and the sun will burn your wings/ It’s all I know, fly too high, Burn your wings.
Ryan Sheridan is a fantastic performer, and when I got home from the concert, I found myself reading his lyrics and finding him very soulful and quotable. I will be following his career and look forward to catching him again on his next show in the city, or even the next time I get to the Emerald Isle!
