Ryan Shephard is an artist based in Chicago, IL, known for his ability to captivate crowds through his lifelong tenure as a guitarist and vocalist.

Biography

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1996, Ryan Shephard took an early interest in music and began his career at a young age. After picking up the guitar at 8 years old and having a knack for improvisation, he took to youth programs in the Cincinnati jazz music scene as well played alongside Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (CCM) musicians to learn the art of improvisational jazz and blues.

Shortly after joining his high school jazz ensemble, Ryan quickly became the top pick in Ohio on the electric guitar in high school for competition-level jazz combos and big bands in the All-State jazz program. During his tenure as a amateur and professional jazz guitarist and improvisationalist, Ryan played in 7 jazz combo bands, 5 big band jazz ensembles, 4 honors jazz bands, and 4 All-State jazz bands. He also was a guest guitarist in dozens more.

During this same time period, Ryan co-founded Freak Mythology, a psychedelic funk rock band with members Brad Wehlitz, Travis Hanna, and Caroline Joseph. Together over a 9 year period, Freak Mythology produced a single self-titled record that won local, national, and international awards, radio airplay, and media placement. They placed 1st in the largest battle of the bands style competition in the Midwest, which propelled them to regional notoriety in the eastern side of the United States.

During his college years at Ohio University in the late 2010’s, Ryan became a full time musician while balancing academia and formed the acoustic duo Freak Duology with Brad Wehlitz, both of whom were the songwriters for Freak Mythology. They played hundreds of shows all over the midwest up until the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused a drastic pause in the country’s entertainment sector.

In March of 2021, 1 year after the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic, Ryan moved to Chicago, IL where he has continued his career and solo acoustic act.