To have sixteen plus years of experience as a singer, guitar player, songwriter and drummer, all by the age of 30, is rare. To have musical range from country, to folk, to rock, to pop, to funk is extraordinary.  Ryan Sande emanates all of these talents.  Raised in Sundre, AB, Ryan remembers listening with his parents to great musicians, such as Neil Young, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson. He began building his musical skill at 14 years of age on percussion. Recognizing a natural ability for music, he evolved towards guitar and was soon the rhythm guitar player and lead singer in a band he formed with three friends. The boys in “Common Ruin” have been playing together for more than a decade and recorded two well received albums. They bring a unique sound of rock-country-funk to original music. Still playing live when opportunity allows, Common Ruin remains one of the most beloved bands in the Mountain View County area.     At 19 years of age, Ryan attended the Music program at Red Deer College, focusing in voice. Here is where he continued to write and perform. Red Deer provided a helpful base with which to promote and perform his expanding repertoire of music. It also provided unique performance opportunities, including annual Halloween tribute shows honouring such admirable showmen like Alice Cooper. Ryan’s quest for musical growth brought him to Calgary Alberta, where he recorded his first solo album “Ryan Sande and Novellafanatic”.     Although great success continues to surround Ryan in the city, the call of home and the country was just too loud to ignore. Currently living in Sundre, this family-oriented musician has comfortably settled into a folksy-roots style of music. Vivid descriptions of growing up in rural Alberta run rampant in Ryan’s latest song writing endeavours. Soulful accounts of family history illustrate unbridled passion and true appreciation of life’s quirks.       Within the last year of his solo endeavour, Ryan received a rising star award through CKFM Olds country Radio, which has lead to the release of “The May Long Song” on that station. Since that singles release the song has become the most requested on the station. Ryan has also shared the stage with Grammy award winning “Nitty Gritty Dirt band” and recently performed with James Keelaghan. Along with these performances, in the summer of 2009 Ryan played Northern Alberta’s beloved North Country Fair, Central Fest and countless other club dates. Most recently Ryan was given a readers choice award by the Mountain View Gazette as second favourite musician in the County of Mountain View.     In his current solo show Ryan incorporates guitar, harmonica, banjo, mandolin and drums to produce a unique and captivating roots sound.      A second solo album is in the works.