Nate Ryan

I’ve been a jazz musician all my life, but I started playing Irish music 5 years ago. I play fiddle, concertina, whistle, tenor banjo, guitar, octave mandolin and bodhran. My family’s from County Clare, but we got run out of Ireland long ago.

My grandma and all my old aunties used to tell me about all of the fiddle players in our family and how my great grandma taught violin when she first came to America. It was a big deal for them that I became a musician here in the states.

It’s a shame that my grandma is gone now. She would have loved to hear me play these tunes. somehow I think she’s the one who is sitting on my shoulder whispering the melodies to me while I play.

People play for a lot of reasons, but I play this music to be close to her again as we all miss her very much.