The buzz surrounding the upcoming Big Concert on campus has been all about Hunter Hayes, but have you heard about his opening act? His amazing opening act…
Cue Ryan Lafferty.
Lafferty is fairly new to the country music scene, but he’s really no newbie! According to an interview he did with The Tennessee Life, he has been songwriting since he was a kid. When he listened to music, he always “dream[ed] of being the guy on stage.”
28-year-old Lafferty hails from Man, West Virginia, but since 2012 has been living in Nashville, Tennessee. In April 2013, Lafferty signed with Still Working Music/BMG Chrysalis. He is a crazy good singer/songwriter, but he is also a self-taught pianist and guitarist. But that’s not all! His official Facebook page’s bio describes him as a “Theater usher, radio DJ, cashier, news photographer, teacher, touring keyboardist, clinical supervisor at an MR Group Home, worship leader, window washer, traveling videographer, 4 am truck loader, and finally…songwriter.” Plus, he’s a husband! His wife’s name is Kaeli. He really is a jack-of-all-trades!
Lafferty has performed in bands of his own, but also has toured with other performers, such as Dan + Shay. The concert here at Gustavus won’t be his first time performing for a college-aged audience, so we here at Her Campus are trusting he knows how to have fun and get the audience pumped up!
Rehearsals for this tour began just a few weeks ago on April 11th, so the concert at Gustavus will be fresh and new! Lafferty seems to be quite responsive to his Twitter fans, so if you want to send a tweet his way, don’t be surprised if you get a response from the handsome crooner!
His released and available music is his 6-song EP, The Half of It, which was released just last May and has an impressive five-star rating on iTunes.
In December, Lafferty posted on Facebook that he is working on recording a full-length album, so keep your eyes peeled!
Check out this Youtube video to hear Ryan Lafferty talk about all six songs from his EP!
Fun Facts About Ryan:
• Fears bears.
• Loves pepper-jack cheese + pepperoni on crackers, baseball, beer, and brats.
• Would be a baseball coach and teacher if he wasn’t a performer.
• Would love to perform a song with Adele, Ariana Grande, or Carrie Underwood.
• He sang “Beauty School Dropout” for his high school’s performance of Grease when he was a sophomore.
What a guy.
Take a look at the Spotify playlist below and get ready to jam with Ryan Lafferty on April 23rd!