Ryan McMahon is counting the days until he pulls back into your Driveway in his heartwarming new country-rock single and lyric video — premiering exclusively on Tinnitist.
And no wonder he’s feeling homesick; it’s been nearly a year since the Ladysmith B.C. singer-songwriter hit the road on behalf of his latest record Live Now, an album that established him as one of Canada’s most promising new voices within the Americana scene. But even after supporting Live Now through tours with Tom Cochrane, Burton Cummings and others, Ryan’s not quite ready to tie a bow on things just yet.
Instead, he’s sharing Driveway, a sweetly shimmering, Blue Rodeo-esque number that addresses life on the road and joy of homecoming, while name-checking places across Canada that have inspired him. “Driveway is the closest thing to a truly Canadian love song that I’ve got,” he says. “I’ve been a hopeless romantic my entire life and the image of one partner being away for extended periods of time and returning home to safety, sanctuary and love really appeals to me. My favourite songs incorporate snapshots of people and places, and I hope I accomplished some of that with Driveway.”
It’s easy to understand why McMahon is still working hard to introduce Live Now to fresh ears. All of the album’s 10 tracks possess the necessary qualities to be singles, with One More Fire, Lost & Found, Feed Your Mind and Sometimes Life’s Amazing serving that purpose already, expressing Live Now’s simple, direct message: Appreciate the wonders that life has to offer while persevering no matter what obstacles stand in the way.
Live Now was recorded in early 2022 at Bryan Adams’ Vancouver studio The Warehouse with the production team of Jordan Pritchett and Danielle King. Its sound deftly walks the line between country and alternative pop, but tying it all together is Ryan’s melodic gifts, delivered through his passionate vocal performances. Great songs defy being categorized, and that’s certainly the case with Driveway.
McMahon likes to tell people he’s a late bloomer. But looking at the body of work he has amassed since 2006, he certainly has made up for lost time. With six releases under his own name, and one with his side project Lion Bear Fox, McMahon has established himself as one of western Canada’s most prolific singer-songwriters.
Even so, he views Live Now as the first album he’s done that fully captures what he set out to achieve, as he expresses in Lost & Found: “I know I gotta get out of my own way, and maybe I’m learning how / There’s time to make a change for better, I think I’m ready now.” That message is also contained within the fingerpicked ballad A Song Can Change Your Mind, an honest reflection of the impact music has made in McMahon’s life, and the impact he hopes his music can have on listeners.
“I’ve long had a wide variety of influences, but before creating these songs I really did some deep dives into the careers of current Americana-type artists that I really admire,” he says. “Jason Isbell, Nathaniel Rateliff, Father John Misty, Israel Nash — these artists are out there, doing their own thing using highly artistic and simultaneously entertaining methods, all the while telling their truth. That’s what I want to do.”
Watch the video for Driveway above, listen to Live Now below, and take a spin over to Ryan McMahon’s website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
