Nov 183 min read

RYAN MONTBLEAU AT BRIGHTON MUSIC HALL

Photos by Joanna Gleason

Review by Jean Senat Fleury

Located at Allston, a busy town near Boston, Brighton Music Hall is one of the oldest venues in Massachusetts. The nightclub has the reputation to welcome artists who become celebrities in the long run.

As a photographer and a fan of live music, I was there on Saturday November 9, 2024, to listen to Ryan Montbleau with his band performing live at the venue. It was a terrific night of music.

The first band on stage to open the show was MJT. A band from Long Island (NY), playing Progressive Alt rock, the Godfrey Brothers’ musical group is built on Matt Godfrey playing simultaneous Keyboards and Synth Bass, Jordan Godfrey playing Drums, and David Godfrey performing on Guitar and soulful vocals. The Godfrey Brothers’ has captivated a very large audiences in the U.S. opening for Slash and Miles Kennedy, Alter Bridge, and Sevendust while also backing diverse, national Touring Acts like Yellowman, Stone Bwoy, and Tash Neal.

As an opener for Ryan Montbleau, MJT’s style at Brighton Music Hall was incredible, their performance, their immaculate showmanship, and most importantly, their ability to keep a crowd on their feet were phenomenal.

At 9:15 p.m. after a brief intermission, Ryan Montbleau’s band took the stage. Montbleau, who crafts an amalgam of rock, folk, R&B, Americana and funk, has been a touring recording artist since his 2003 debut “Begin.”

A Boston-based singer/songwriter whose soulful mix of rock, Montbleau partnered with collaborator Haley Jane, a fellow singer/songwriter, on the project Yes Darling beginning in 2017.

Montbleau was named the Best Local Male Vocalist in the 2007 Boston Music Awards. He also won second prize for performance in the 2007 International Songwriting Competition. Montbleau was nominated for a 2012 MTV Music Award for Best Concert Experience.

Music flowed from Montbleau. Love songs, such as “Who Made You” – inspired by his girlfriend – are part of Montbleau’s latest collection, “Wood, Fire, Water and Air”, which was released in February 2024. About the four Eps Montbleau released during the pandemic, he said: “They’re like snapshotsof my life,” “It is a good time right now since more people are coming out to see me and experience these songs.”

Montbleau performed with Matt Ginnaros (acoustic upright bass, electric bass, backing vocals), Laurence Scudder (violin, backing vocals), Jason Cohen (piano, organ, clarinet, Moog synthesizer) and James Cohen (drums). In 2006, the group released its first collective album, One Fine Color. In February 2011, the band announced the departure of Laurence Scudder and also the addition of guitarist Lyne Brewer. In October 2013, Jason Cohen and Lyne Brewer left the band to focus on family.

Touching on folk, rock, funk, soul, hip-hop, and reggae, Montbleau’s songs are relentlessly optimistic, insisting on hope and joy. At Brighton Music Hall, the group played different songs such as Ankles – Ghosts - Songbird – Eve + Adam – Nervous – Forgiveness – Fine Lines – Bight Side - I Can’t Wait, etc. from different albums: I Was Just Leaving (2017) – Wood, Fire, Water, and Air (2023) – For Higher (2012) – Fire (2021) EP – Begin (2002) – Stages (2003).

Montbleau has 11 albums to draw from when he hits the stage with his band or as a solo artist.

“I can’t play a show just one way because I want to make people cry since I’m a folk singer at heart,” Montbleau said. “But I also want people to move their bodies at my shows. I like it both ways.”

During his career, Montbleau collaborated with artists as diverse as Martin Sexton, Trombone Shorty, Tall Heights, Steel Pulse, Anders Osborne, George Porter, Jr., and Galactic, and rack up more than 100 million streams on Spotify alone. Along the way, Montbleau shared bills with stars like Tedeschi Trucks Band, Ani DiFranco, The Wood Brothers, Rodrigo y Gabriela, and Mavis Staples. He has opened solo/acoustic for John P. Hammond, Melissa Ferrick. His band often performed at the Gathering of the Vibes music festival in Connecticut.

NPR’s Mountain Stage compared his “eloquent, soulful songwriting” to Bill Withers and James Taylor, while Relix celebrated his “poetic American and The Boston Herald raved that “he’s made a career of confident, danceable positivity.”

Montbleau Setlist

1- Dead Sit

2- Head Move Water

3- Til The End

4- 75 + Sunny

5- Ankles

6- Ships in the Night

7- Eve + adam

8- Thick American Skin

9- Break the Silence

10- Nervous

11- Closer to God