Daily Inspiration: Meet Ryan Jewel

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Jewel.

Hi Ryan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Everyone’s story is different, right!? To be honest, I was in college and I was broke. I figured playing and singing could be a good way to make a few extra bucks while going through school, but I never thought it would get to the level it’s at now.

I started playing guitar when I was young (maybe 7 or 8?) but never really took it seriously until I started pickin’ around with my buddy Tyler Jenkins and his dad Steve, in their basement.

I was always a pretty decent poem writer coming up through grade school so I figured writing a song couldn’t be much more different (or so I thought…). I started dabbling in songwriting while in high school and then kept the momentum going in college.

I owe a great deal of gratitude to Clemson University, cause that’s where I got my education, as well as my start to my now full-time career… burning up the bars, frats, sororities, and tailgates, whenever the opportunity arose! Looking back on it all, it’s crazy to think that I was just doing it to supplement a little income while going to school. As the crowds started growing and my name got a little bigger, I started to think, “Hmmm, maybe this could actually be a thing and not just something I do while in school”.

I kept on playing, and writing and the “bug” kept biting me until I realized I was too deep into the music, songwriting, and overall aspect of the music to give it up after college. I brought my music back to VA after I graduated, built up my “fanbase” even more, wrote more songs, cut an album, and kept wanting to raise the bar with my music, so a few years later, I moved to Tennessee, where I have been since 2017.

And all of that is in a nutshell! Lord, the ride has been a crazy one ever since I started to pursue this.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
HAHA! If a pot-hole-filled, washboard, gravel road is smooth to y’all, then yes, it has been smooth sailing! But if that sounds more like a bumpy road that may need some serious navigation, then you’re exactly right! With this business, like everything, there really isn’t a right way or wrong way to approach it… you’ve just got to jump in and DO IT. That’s the first step, and then it’s a lot of trial and error after that.

You’ll get bummed, you’ll get excited, you’ll get shot down, you’ll get praised, you’ll get happy and then sad, and all of those emotions before your lunch break on Monday! It’s been a wild ride, for sure. There are a lot of things to keep up with and that tends to get overwhelming at times; updates to my website, social media, merchandise inventory, songwriting, learning said songs, traveling to shows, playing shows, traveling to Nashville, busting my butt while there, band practice, photoshoots, leaving no hand un-shook at my shows, etc.

It can be A LOT! Once all of that stuff is prioritized (which it’s all a priority) then you can navigate the approach road much better and smoother. It definitely takes time, it takes courage, it takes a will to succeed, and the ability to sacrifice, along with a few (A LOT) of failures, to be successful but I’ll be the first to tell you, it’s worth every bit of it!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Well, I am a preacher of the country music gospel! Sing songs that touch me, write songs that I’ve experienced firsthand and try to connect with people through my music. If you ask who I am in my home state, you may hear that I’m a pretty big country music artist/songwriter (I am humbled by that, by the way).

If you ask who I am in Nashville, you may get puzzled looks or the occasional “Ohh, I heard him playing at The Local or Bluebird Cafe the other day he wears a cowboy hat, right?” I’m known to some as a country music artist/songwriter who has the “coolest job ever”, and I am also known to some as a great friend who they can call up anytime and go fishing with.

No matter how big this career gets to be, I always want to be known as a guy who anybody can come up to and have a conversation with and talk like we’ve known each other for years.

There are a lot of things I am proud of! Where I started to where I am now. Artist’s that I’ve had the pleasure to share the stage with songs that myself and other writer friends have written. lifelong friends that I have met along the way because of the music records that I’ve cut.

places that I’ve seen because of music.. the ability to not give up when times have gotten tough the support I continue to get from everyone. All sorts of things I am proud of. There are so many more things that I want to accomplish, as well, that will make me even more proud of myself and the decision I made to pursue this career long ago.

I think my ability to keep going and see the positive in things, even when there isn’t any positive to see, sets me apart from others. Some may say my voice sets me apart from others, and while I would agree with them, that’s only skin deep. My drive, ambition, will to sacrifice, ability to overcome obstacles, and vision, are things that aren’t necessarily seen by everyone but are most definitely influential when it comes to separating me from others.

Sure, my songwriting is good, I am a friendly person and approachable, but those are just a few things that set me apart. I always say “If you sit around a fire with me and really get to know me, you’ll soon realize what sets me apart from others”.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My musical hero and the life-long hero have always been my granddad. So one of my favorite memories growing up has always been spending the summers in SC with him and my grandmom. We would fish ALL THE TIME, pretty much live out on the lake every day.

We’d take trips up to Dollywood and Cherokee, NC, floating down the river, riding go-carts, pestering my grandparents to no end, for months at a time.. whatever my brothers and I wanted to do, we’d pretty much do it! Whether we were out and about, running at 100 mph, or stuck inside ’cause it was a rainy day, I always loved being at our grandparent’s house.

I often find myself daydreaming back to those summers when there really wasn’t a care in the world besides what I and my brothers were going to do that day. Those will always be my favorite memories! And I miss both of them dearly!

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: WWW.RYANJEWELMUSIC.COM
• Instagram: @ryanjewelmusic_
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/ryanjewel870
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRnUf01VZdjCWiMRGZjQiIw

Image Credits
Ashley Paige Photography, Rebecca Boone Photography, and Mark Webster Photography