Brayden Ryle walks in his father’s footsteps but not in his shadow
By David C. Lannan for Country Music News International Magazine
You could say 18-year-old Brayden Ryle of Clarksville is following in his father’s footsteps but Brayden is charting his own course, with help as needed from a man who knows the music business. Brayden is the youngest of five children, born to Curt and Mia in 2006. Curt is a singer, songwriter and producer as well as co-owner of Clarksville Creative Sound.
Brayden is currently enrolled in college at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville. He had his sights on University of Tennessee (Knoxville), Middle Tennessee State University, and even out of the state like University of South Florida, Murray State University, and North Carolina State University. However, because of music and the launch of the TV show “Small Town Sound’’, he decided to stay in Clarksville.
In college Brayden is studying marketing because he felt like studying in a major other than music would help him have a back up plan in case something happened or didn’t work with music “but I have a lot of faith in music and I’m hoping it goes great,” he said.
“If it wasn’t for my dad, I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am now,” Brayden said. “He helped me find who I was and helped me grow a passion for music. He jump started my career and I’m extremely thankful for it.”
The first song he co-wrote was when he was about 6 or 7 years old and was in elementary school. “There was this pretty cute girl in my class that I had a bit of a crush on,” Brayden said. “When I came home, I asked my dad how I could make this girl like me, and he told me to write and sing her a song.”
He and his dad wrote “Eye on You”, released it on YouTube which made it on the RFD Network and many stations wanted to play the song. “This ultimately started my music career as I kept recording afterwards. I guess you could say that I got the girl too haha.”
Early in his music career his father paired Brayden with a Canadian artist he was working with, Jadyn Rylee. Over the years they have recorded several duets together.
“Jadyn is an amazing singer and we’re very close to this day. We also share the same record producer. I am extremely blessed to have gotten to know her and sing with her and I’m glad that I can continue to call her my friend,” Brayden said. “Jadyn and I write many songs together and will always have one another’s backs. Always wishing the best for her and her music because she deserves it.”
His favorite Jadyn and Brayden song is “Love Just Flashed”. He begged his dad for years to sing that song and his dad always said he was too young.
“Listening to the lyrics now, I can say that he was right, but when I heard that Jadyn wanted to record that song too, I threw out the idea of making it a duet and he agreed to it,” Brayden said. “I’ve always loved that song and will cherish singing that song with my best friend too.”
Brayden has recorded 4 solo albums (about 40-50 songs), recorded about 15 songs with Jadyn, 4 or 5 with Jasmine McDonald and 1 duet with EV Mae, with some others being unreleased so far. He has also performed at shows with other CCS artists Steve Markwardt, Austin and Mackynsie McKedy, plus many package artists he’s not too close with.
“The first song I performed publicly was at Auburn University singing ‘What a Wonderful World’ by Louis Armstrong,” Brayden said, “I was about 10 years old and was definitely nervous but I made it through!”
Brayden has been playing guitar for about 6 or 7 years. “With writing I mostly start off with a melody. I then mess around with it and eventually write lyrics behind it,” he said, “I love doing it and it kills a lot of my free time. I’ve written almost half of the songs I record and most of the time it’s with other co-writers. I’ve written many with my dad and many with other artists on the label.”
He prefers writing with others because with more minds you get more ideas. His most recent release is “Master of Illusion.”
“I’ve always found trouble with social media. I love singing and performing but when it comes to social media, it is definitely not my thing,” Brayden admitted. “It’s challenging to constantly post but I’m doing the best I can and maybe I can get really good at it!”
His favorite part of the music business is creating. He loves to write and create melodies, especially when those songs are for his catalog or maybe other artists catalogs.
“My least favorite thing about the music business is definitely dropping my guitar pick in my guitar and trying to get that pick out,” he said. “But on a serious note, probably the grinding in the recording studio making my vocals as perfect as possible. This is most likely every singer’s least favorite thing because a lot of the time it’s very hard work. But it’s worth it in the end.”
If he could perform with anyone in the music industry, it would be Morgan Wallen. “I love his music and I know most of his songs.” His favorite female artist would “probably be Megan Moroney for the exact same reasons.” He said both are amazing and very talented and he hopes to meet one of them some day
“Not everything is rainbows and unicorns. A lot of it is hard work and making connections with people. Fortunately for me, I got very lucky and am very blessed to be where I’m at, but nothing is impossible,” Brayden said. “If you really want something, go for it, but also be careful because the world will try to trick you or even bring you down. Get back up and keep pursuing.”
His dad taught him how to play guitar and helped him vocally in the studio, “I’ve never really had a “coach” when it came to vocals. Most of it is really just maturing overtime and trying new things vocally,” Brayden said.
When he was little, he wanted to be a police officer, but since music came into his life, “I would choose music in a heartbeat.” However, if he wasn’t in the music industry and had to pursue a job now, he would become actor “because I love entertaining and acting.”
He’s no stranger to acting or being on camera. He’s been in video duets with CCS artists. And recently, he and the cast wrapped up shooting for the pilot of “Small Town Sound,” to air on the American Country Network. “I love the idea and concept behind ‘Small Town Sound’ and an amazing aspect to it is that I get to work with people that I’m very close with,” he said, “I love the cast of the show and I love the production crew behind cameras as well as the ACN Network. I’m super excited about Small Town Sound and the direction it’s going! I’m hoping this will jump start my professional career and get me some concerts I can perform at. Maybe even an acting career would be interesting!”
Originally, Brayden used to sing pop music but experimented with different genres like rock or even gospel, but finally landed in the country genre. “I love country music and the aspects of it. It’s also more fun to write country songs because I love to write interesting lyrics that play on words,” he said.”
Brayden has managed to balance his schedule – having time to play sports, write songs and spend time with people he loves. “I’m very fortunate to have what I have and was never forced to do anything I didn’t wanna do,” he said.
CCS regularly holds an annual songwriting retreat in the Smoky Mountains. This year, ACN was there and filmed future episodes of the TV Show “Small Town Sound”. “Many of us wrote a lot of songs that could potentially be added to a lot of our catalogs or even be featured on the show,” Brayden said.
“I’m very happy to be where I’m at and I have God, my dad, and my mom to thank for it all,” Brayden said. “I’m excited to see what the future holds for me as well as other artists and friends on the label.”
Brayden’s songs can be purchased at www.i2irecords.com