Country music duo Ryan and Rory are making waves with their debut EP, earning them a spot as SiriusXM The Highway's latest ‘Highway Find.' Their breakout single, ‘Pour Decisions,' has quickly become a summer favourite, with Country Now praising it as a “catchy, post-heartbreak summertime anthem.” The duo's lively and infectious sound is perfectly captured in this party-ready track, which serves as the lead single for their self-titled debut EP, now available on all platforms.
Ryan Follesé, a Nashville native and American Music Award-winning singer-songwriter with two platinum #1 hits under his belt, teams up with multi-instrumentalist Rory John Zak from Raleigh, North Carolina. Rory, who has been playing over 300 shows a year since he was 17, complements Ryan’s dynamic lead vocals with smooth harmonies and expert instrumentals. Their EP showcases a vibrant blend of summer anthems and soul-stirring ballads, highlighted by standout tracks like ‘This Town,' and the vibrant ‘Drunk and Lonely.' Opening for Sam Hunt this summer, Ryan and Rory are poised to make a significant impact on the country music scene and we were thrilled to catch up with them to talk all about it.
Thank you for your time today guys, we're loving the EP – have you two been pleased with the reaction to it?
Rory: I would say, absolutely, yeah! We've had a lot of positive feedback about it. We got to celebrate at Sirius XM on the Friday it came out and there was a great crowd there for that.
Did you have a lot of songs up for consideration for the EP? How did you settle on the final six?
Ryan: We do have a lot of songs! (laughing) We do this as a day job so we write songs all the time, as many days a week as we can. These six songs raised their hands to us and were the ones we connected with the most. It wasn't as hard to pick the songs for this EP by the time it actually came time to do it, actually. That being said, I think the next batch of songs might be a little more challenging for us!!!
What's the Ryan and Rory origin story? How did you two come to be a duo?
Rory: We met about seven years ago at a LoCash concert in Raleigh in North Carolina, which was my hometown. Ryan was opening for LoCash and he had this little meet and greet table and I went back there and introduced myself, grabbed a picture that we still have today. A few years went by before we got re-connected through a good family friend, maybe about two years ago now. We played some golf, jumped in the studio and we became a duo!!!
Before we dig into the EP a little, lets talk about your musical backgrounds. Ryan, you've been around the industry for a while now in bands like Miracle Drug and Hot Chelle Rae……….
Ryan: Oh My Gosh! I can't believe you've mentioned my first band…..
Rory: That might be the first time it's ever been mentioned! (laughing)
….and your parents were songwriters as well so did you have an unusual upbringing around the industry or did it just seem normal to you?
Ryan: It definitely seemed normal to me. Growing up in Nashville there were a ton of kids whose parents were songwriters. It wasn't super uncommon to go to school and know other kids whose parents were in the industry – like the guys in Sixwire, I played baseball with their kids. Once you grow up and see how other families live, though, it's super weird I think! (laughing) I wouldn't have had it any other way and I'm really thankful for it.
You opened up for Taylor Swift about 12 years ago – could you see her promise and the lightning in the bottle she had even back then?
Ryan: Yeah, definitely. She seemed so advanced for the age she was, show technique and how to captivate an audience, that sort of stuff. She was defintely playing checkers whilst everyone else was playing chess.
Rory – you have a comprehensive musical background. Was being a musician all you ever wanted to do growing up?
Rory: I figured that out pretty early in my life, yeah! My dad was the musical one in the family – he played piano and guitar and had a garage band too. My parents knew from when I was about 7 years old that music was what I wanted to do. In my sophomore year of high school I converted online to focus on music and around the same time I got a call from the Carolina Opry in Myrtle Beach asking me to come join them so I became their youngest full-time lead singer in their 35 year history! That was my college – I didn't go to Belmont or any of the other music schools but I learned from that great experience, I learned how to be a better singer and musician with them.
I've been going back and forth to Nashville for over ten years and kept up with the industry and people around it. One day a good friend of ours said ‘You remember Ryan Follesé? You guys should hook up and see what happens!'
Listening to the EP I can hear Rascal Flatts, Dan & Shay and even a Pop/Rock band like Train in there. What musicians have influenced the pair of you in your careers?
Rory: Rascal Flatts is a great reference. Ryan and I really vibe with the early 2000's style of country music. I'd also be lying if I didn't say that Brooks and Dunn weren't a big influence on us too. We love great songs from the 90s and 2000's, that's our favourite era.
Ryan: If you are going to give us any nod, it's interesting that you mentioned a band like Train, we have gotten those references before. I will take that as a huge compliment as Pat Monahan is one of my favourite writers and singers.
‘Pour Decisions' reminds me of Pat Monahan's style of writing with Train. The snappy sound, the cadence of the lyrics, the catchiness of it – it must be a great song to play live?
Ryan: It is such a fun song. We got to celebrate the EP release at Sirius XM and play that song live and it was the first time we got to see people actually singing the lyrics back to us as we played it. That's a cool thing – watching the song grow and grow as the weeks go by. We've got some shows coming up with Sam Hunt soon and that song will be a big moment in the show alongside a couple of surprises we have up our sleeves too!
I really like ‘State I'm In.' Is that based on a true story or did you take some creative licenses when writing it?
Ryan: That song is absolutely rooted in truth. Even if you've never just packed up everything you have and moved somewhere new, everyone can relate to the sentiment of giving up something or trying something new for someone else. It is very very close to being a factual song! (laughing)
It was something that I was going through but it was a title that my mom (Ryan's parents are Keith and Adrienne Follese) had and she was like, I think I know how to say this and I knew exactly how we should take it and make it into a song.
What's it like writing songs with your parents?
Ryan: It's awesome because you can really tell each other whether you like and idea or not and no-one gets offended if you don't! (laughing)
Rory: It's really interesting being at their house and writing a song with Ryan and his family and then they make dinner afterwards! We'll be sitting at the dinner table when all of a sudden Ryan's dad will be, like, ‘Oh, that hook, I think we might need to change it to this,' and his mom will be like, ‘Yes, then we can change the words to this line.' It's such a fun dynamic.
Ryan: When Rory started writing with us he became a family member but it is a place of 100% honesty. For better or worse! (laughing)
I guess there are some topics that are off limits when writing with your parents, though! It's not like you are going to knock out a Jason Aldean-style ‘Burnin It Down' song about hooking up or getting it on I imagine!
Ryan: It's like watching an R rated movie when you are a teenager with your mom and dad, right? (laughing) You might need to cover your eyes! (laughing)
Rory: No, we haven't written one of those yet…….
Ryan: We havent and we wont! (laughing)
My favourite song on the EP is ‘Drunk and Lonely.' Particularly the final third with the time change as the song just goes wild. Have you two got a favourite or is that like asking you to choose between your kids?
Ryan: I feel like my favourite changes every day. Right now, it is ‘Drunk and Lonely' too! I can't wait to play that one live with a full band. We grew up loving Brooks and Dunn, those guys are the original rock stars of Country music I think. We wanted to set out to make a song that would make Ronnie and Kix proud. ‘Drunk and Lonely' is that song.
I'm a big Lonestar fan and ‘This Town' gives me ‘What About Now' vibes in terms of the messages and vibe of the song.
Rory: I can see that. For ‘This Town' that's kinda the song from the EP that I vibe with the most because I'm basically living through it right now. I was out in Myrtle Beach in Carolina for six years and I knew that I needed to make a move and start afresh somewhere which was why I moved to Nashville. That song is about getting out of Dodge and chasing a dream and I'm living that right now.
You mentioned the Sam Hunt shows, I think Sam is a great fit for you guys. What's the plan for the rest of the year in terms of shows, music and getting the EP out to as many people as you can?
Rory: We would love to get across the pond at some point and play for you guys over there, that's a big ambition of ours. We're basically trying to write, record and beat the song for the back half of this record, so we're working on that pretty much everyday right now. We want to put out more music and then after that it's our goal to be able to play as many shows as we possibly can.
If the pair of you could sit down with any writer in town that you haven't worked with yet to write your next single, who would you choose and why?
Rory: Ryan has written with some pretty big names but I would say two of my personal favourites here in town that I would love to write with would be Brett James and Jeffrey Steele. I've met Jeffrey, he's a class act dude and I would love to get in a room with him and write something.
Ryan: Brett's a monster and Jeffrey's my neighbour! That's just Nashville, dude. Jeffrey lives about 8 houses away (laughing) and Kenny Chesney's guitar player is about 4 away! For me, I would love to write with Ashley Gorley. I've met him before but we've never written together – I am a student of how people work and I'd love to see Ashley at work and watch his process. That would be an amazing moment.
Check out Ryan and Rory's debut EP right here and treat yourself to their anthemic, summertime vibes.
