Ryan Harlin is a songwriter, producer, and music educator whose compositions have been featured in popular gaming franchises like League of Legends, Dancing With the Stars Home Edition, Riot Games’ Valorant, on popular BBC television series and profiled in Smithsonian Magazine.
Ryan holds a degree in music technology from the Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts, where he was awarded the prestigious Phillip Holt Prize by Sir Paul McCartney. He has since collaborated with artists as diverse as dance music legend Paul Van Dyk and banjo icon Kermit the Frog, and in his role as senior creative executive for Reason Studios Ryan has earned tens of millions of views on YouTube—and praise from chart topping music producers like Ian Kirkpatrick, Toro Y Moi, and Key Wane —with his instructional videos about the essence of songwriting.
Ryan’s banjo style is a blend of old time technique and modern folk, with bluegrass, roots, and even pop influences. On stage, Ryan was recently featured at the California Bluegrass Associations 49th Annual Father’s Day Festival in Grass Valley, CA for two sets of bluegrass standards as well as his own original songs.
More than anything however, Ryan enjoys helping people in their quest to make music with others, which has led to him being a regular instructor at Walker Creek Music Camp, The Great 48, and the California Bluegrass Association’s Summer Music Camp teaching old time banjo, bluegrass jamming, and vocal harmony.