Guest vocalist sings Irish songs from the heart

Although singer-songwriter Cathie Ryan was born in Detroit, she’s a native of Ireland at heart. Ryan’s music blends traditional Irish songs with American folk sensibilities, and this weekend she and her backing band will be performing a selection of Irish songs both new and old with the Spokane Symphony. We spoke with Ryan from her home in New York about the musical influence of her Irish parents, her experiences performing in Ireland and why music that’s centuries old still speaks to listeners.

SR: What is your musical background?

Ryan: I was blessed to have two parents who absolutely loved music, and especially Irish music. For them, the music they grew up with in Ireland is what tethered them to home after they immigrated to the States in the late ’50s. There was always Irish music in the house, and my dad worked on the line at General Motors, so he brought in Hank Williams and Johnny Cash and lots of great country music. My father sang, and he was the best tenor I’ve ever heard. … He was very hard on me as a kid. He’d hear me singing and he was so critical, and I used to go hide wherever he wouldn’t hear me so I could sing. He really taught me to look at a song the way you would look at a text or a story … and to really try and sing from a place within yourself.

SR: When did you decide to pursue music professionally?

Ryan: I got married very young and had a child and went back to school as an adult. I was an adjunct lecturer at my alma mater, Lehman College in New York, and that’s when I had to make a real decision: Are you going to remain teaching or are you going for this music career? I had a child at the time, so it was a very considered decision; I didn’t do it lightly. And I chose music. It’s just in my DNA. That’s a very Irish thing.

SR: What’s the difference between performing in Ireland versus the U.S.?

Ryan: They love music. Irish audiences come in the door with such open hearts, and you’re already on the same page. They know you’re in the club. I feel really lucky that they’ve welcomed me back, so to speak. … I draw from the wells of both Irish folk music and American folk music, and they love American folk music in Ireland. So that combination is a winner for an Irish audience. It’s lovely. I love singing over there, and it does feel very homelike to me.

SR: Do you get to perform with symphonies often?

Ryan: Yes, and I adore it. I’m so excited to be singing with the Spokane Symphony. To stand in front of a really great orchestra of people who have devoted their lives to music, it’s like having angel wings lifting you up. It’s beautiful.

SR: Are you going to be playing original and traditional songs?

Ryan: Yes, we’ll be doing original material and ancient, traditional songs. Most of my original songs are borne of having listened to loads of traditional music. If you listen to them, you might think, “Oh, these are traditional songs,” so they may not poke out as newly composed. It’s just there in my writing. … And I love our set lists. I really want to give people a view of Ireland, and to take them out of the room and to Ireland for a few hours there in Spokane. That’s what we’re going to work toward doing.

SR: Why do you think traditional Irish music still connects with modern audiences, Irish or otherwise?

Ryan: So many people say they’re songs of the heart, and they absolutely are. The Irish have been through so much for centuries, and through music they kept their spirit strong. … Everything is in Irish music – the history of the country, the wit of the Irish, their great loves, their great losses. It’s all chronicled in song. And there’s tremendous heart in that. It’s profound. When I’m on a stage singing Irish music, I’m standing on the bones of my ancestors. Because people have been singing these songs for all these generations, we have our story to tell.