Ryan Fitzsimmons

Mr. Fitzsimmons is a brutal force of nature on acoustic guitar. Often breaking multiple strings during a performance, he plays with a fire and fierceness that cannot be tamed, or faked for that matter. His songs are as authentic and emotion driven as they come, ranging from beautiful and moving ballads, to raucous and rambling dirt stompers, there is no doubt that Ryan is as enticing a musician as they come. - Redline Roots

Ryan Fitzsimmons has a singing style with an engaging, mature pop feel, edgy and full. The production here ranges from roots-rock/pop to acoustic employing banjo and fiddle. One of the more satisfying tracks is “North Central Line.” The lyrics mourn the loss of an old railway line and the inexorability of change: I’m waitin’ on the North Central Line / in a station where here’s no place for time / on a platform that’s slowly rotting away. Mandolins and fiddles provide a fitting backdrop to this paean to a bygone era. - Acoustic Live NYC

"Cold Sky” is a series of breathtaking musical moments. Ryan proves that good songs need little more than his emotional voice, the semi-acoustic arrangements and the strong support of his band. - Alt-Country Forum NL

"The Narrows in Fall River is a volunteer run coffeehouse and gallery and it's worth a trip. Somehow, confirming Ryan Fitzsimmons as the opener slipped through the cracks. I asked if they could still call him, and he ended up speeding down from Cambridge, peeling into the driveway, and jumping onstage. And then he crushed it, in the words of a rad friend. Genuine, talented, and charismatic." - MySpace Blog, June 2007

Ryan Fitzsimmons was a breath of gentler air. With only his guitar, sweet voice, and clear, simple melodies, he can't help but get your toes tapping. His voice ranges from throaty and sultry to clean and uncomplicated, seeming to innately understand what each chord needs to accompany it. His lyrics ring true, identifying the human condition in a relatable way. Although often poetic, his words are accessible and real, and, backed by his elegant guitar, spin an intoxicating web.
- Northeast Performer

Founder and host Ryan Fitzsimmons claims four of the 19 tracks on the album. They are the clear highlights on the album, and show why Fitzsimmons is the King Arthur of this Camelot. The album opens with "North Central Line," a lively and brilliant acoustic rock tune riddled with emotion and reminiscence. "Haley Wall" is the highest-energy song on the album, describing helplessness against a beautiful but troublesome woman, repeating the mantra, "And I knew that there was no way I could win" - Northeast Performer

Newport Folk Festival Review

The relentlessly friendly Ryan Fitzsimmons (an OurStage Newport winner) opened Sunday’s festivities with a set of stark, eerie folk on the Waterside Stage. Fitzsimmons’ chiming open chords shoved their way across layers of feedback and programming (courtesy of a tiny Line 6 amp modeler), until they found a place situated somewhere between country music and horror soundtrack. The four songs he played were forceful, passionate pleas about cigarettes, gasoline, crystal meth, and everything between: the soundtrack to small-town boredom and that ever-present hope for light. The fact that he was so polite between songs (even taking the time to thank the sound man, the promoters, the audience, and anything else he lay eyes upon) struck the darkness of his songs even deeper. Complex dude. - Aquarium Drunkard Blog

Founder and host Ryan Fitzsimmons claims four of the 19 tracks on the album. They are the clear highlights on the album, and show why Fitzsimmons is the King Arthur of this Camelot. The album opens with "North Central Line," a lively and brilliant acoustic rock tune riddled with emotion and reminiscence. "Haley Wall" is the highest-energy song on the album, describing helplessness against a beautiful but troublesome woman, repeating the mantra, "And I knew that there was no way I could win" - Northeast Performer

With a compelling aesthetic intact, the young Fitzsimmons seems to have a promising road laid out for him. Part storyteller, part poet, part melodicist, his best tunes recall the work of folk icons like John Gorka and Suzanne Vega - Providence Phoenix, Providence RI

With a flair for the dramatic and the ability to turn power-chords into melody lines, RYAN FITZSIMMONS has long been a stand-out performer on the Syracuse acoustic scene. His continuing growth as a writer of songs rich in imagery and emotion gives Syracuseans even more right to be proud of him. With an increasingly busy tour schedule of regional gigs (he recently made a big splash opening for Peter Mulvey at the legendary Café Lena in Saratoga Springs), Ryan is poised to bust out of the local scene and make his mark as one of the northeast's most exciting new folk musicians - music director - Folkus Project

His sets have honed songs from Open All Night, which articulate dark clouds of his past like unrequited love (“Empty Glass“), feeling stuck (“LoFi“) and wistfulness in the Celtic-flavored “Sad, Sad, Sad, Sad.“ The vibe is content, though, with a lot of weary, nocturnal musings a la Tom Waits' Nighthawks at the Diner (Asylum) that suggest a loving empathy for the town that seemed to swallow people's hopes...His tone is nostalgic but not painful; he embraces his past as a viable subject matter and runs with it - The Syracuse NewTimes

Opening act Ryan Fitzsimmons took a couple of nights off from his make-it-or-bust job of singing in Boston's subways to drive five hours to perform in his hometown.

The Cicero native was the perfect stirrer to the (Loudon Wainwright III) cocktail to come.

Fitzsimmons worked the crowd comfortably and showed writing, singing and guitar talent.

Particularly striking were "The North Central Line," the energetic tale he based on the statues on the platform of the old railroad station on the north side of Interstate 690 West just before Interstate 81, and "Will My Mind," a gorgeous brokenhearted song about the dead still of winter in Alexandria Bay.

Fitzsimmons' guitar was especially golden on the instrumental "Black Rabbit," written by his former Boston pal Peter Mulvey.

And his choice of voice covers showed a free-form interpretive side: a revved-up "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," by Bob Dylan, and a cascading "Higher Ground," by Stevie Wonder. Betcha he turns heads in the Boston underground. - Post-Standard, Syracuse NY

As one of the new breed of young New England singer/songwriters, Ryan Fitzsimmons is the real deal. I happened to catch him as an opening act one night and was knocked out by his singing, songwriting, guitar playing, and poise. He has the chops and smarts to go somewhere and I look forward to catching him again soon when someone else is opening for HIM! - Host, Highway 61 Revisited, Folk Radio WUMB Boston MA

As one of the new breed of young New England singer/songwriters, Ryan Fitzsimmons is the real deal. I happened to catch him as an opening act one night and was knocked out by his singing, songwriting, guitar playing, and poise. He has the chops and smarts to go somewhere and I look forward to catching him again soon when someone else is opening for HIM! - Host, Highway 61 Revisited, Folk Radio WUMB Boston MA