Nicole Ryan

Nicole can’t remember a time when she wasn’t singing. ‘I was born into a musical family. My folks lived and breathed music!’ She grew up listening to her father play the piano daily. As soon as she was old enough, he would take her to hear him playing in the Bobby Farris Band. Her mother would sing around the house and expose Nicole to a diverse range of genres.

It wasn’t long before some clear favorites made a lasting impression on Nicole. The true greats like Etta James, Billie Holiday, Ella FitzGerald, Nancy Wilson and Sarah Vaughan inspired a deep love of classic standards. Contemporary artists like Amy Winehouse and Eva Cassidy triggered a love of deeply emotional, intimate and heart-wrenching songs. At this point, Nicole felt compelled to follow in her father’s footsteps to become an interpreter and a performer.

Nicole has now been performing and entertaining audiences for over 20 years. In her early twenties, father and daughter got to perform regularly together in a duo, singing jazz standards in local venues around the Hudson Valley. Nicole then graduated to the role of lead singer in high energy dance band Fishbowl, for a couple of years. Now, Nicole is bringing her high energy and vocal ‘chops’ to Circus of Wolves. She’s using her unique interpretive vocal skills to sing lead on a wide range of originals while helping to shape the band’s overall vocal approach. Nicole is also contributing creatively to the band’s new material as well as adding some of her own  originals.