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Ryan Montbleau

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Martin Sexton and Ryan Montbleau

Lowell summer music series at boarding house park.

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Honesty and vulnerability have been hallmarks of Montbleau’s career since the early 2000’s, when he first began performing around his native Massachusetts. In the years to come, he’d go on to collaborate with artists as diverse as Martin Sexton, Trombone Shorty, Tall Heights, and Galactic, and rack up more than 100 million streams on Spotify alone. Along the way, Montbleau would share bills with stars like Tedeschi Trucks Band, Ani DiFranco, The Wood Brothers, Rodrigo y Gabriela, and Mavis Staples, but it was his ecstatic headline shows—often more than 200 of them a year—that solidified his reputation as a roots rock powerhouse and an inexorable road warrior. NPR’s Mountain Stage compared his “eloquent, soulful songwriting” to Bill Withers and James Taylor, while Relix celebrated his “poetic Americana,” and The Boston Herald raved that “he’s made a career of confident, danceable positivity.”  Advance GA $55.00 ($48.00 ticket + $7.00 service fee)  Advance Premium $111.00 ($98.00 ticket + $13.00 service fee) Day Of GA $67.00 ($58.00 ticket + $9.00 service fee) Day Of Premium $122.00 ($108.00 ticket + $14.00 service fee)

Premium Seats are low-to-the-ground chairs which we provide and are located  in the first several rows for each show. Go to the seat map on the ticketing page for each show to see the actual layout.   For photos, please visit the the FAQ's on the Lowell Summer Music Series website. 

VIP Parking

A limited number of parking spaces are available by advance reservation on the surface parking lot adjacent to Boarding House Park for $27 per vehicle. 

- Closest surface parking lot to the venue entrance - directly across the street.

- Convenient. Easy In, Easy Out.

- No waiting to exit from parking garage.

- Lot opens at 5:30 pm.

- On-Site Security Guard will be present.

- Part of the parking fee supports the nonprofit Lowell Summer Music Series.

Order your space in advance here and have your name on the Will Call List at the parking lot entrance. Just show ID to get in. 

Note: Parking lot is privately owned. Neither the Lowell Summer Music Series nor the Property owner accepts liability regarding parking in this lot.

After selecting your concert tickets below, you will have the option to add a VIP Parking Pass to your order.

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Ryan Montbleau

Jam cruise 2024 view all concerts, feb 25 – mar 1, 2024.

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• April 26, 2024 Setlist

Ryan Montbleau Band Setlist at The Warehouse at the Fairfield Theatre Company, Fairfield, CT, USA

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• Head Above Water Play Video
• Time and Again Play Video
• Til the End Play Video
• Songbird Play Video
• Break the Silence Play Video
• Nervous Play Video
• Never Gonna Be Play Video
• Closer to God Play Video
• 75 and Sunny Play Video
• Let the Morning In ( The Skip  cover) Play Video
• Honeymoon Eyes Play Video
• I Was Just Leaving Play Video
• Bright Side Play Video
• Outside Looking In Play Video
• Stretch ( Ryan Solo ) Play Video
• Ankles Play Video
• Fine Lines Play Video
• The Stroke ( Billy Squier  cover) Play Video
• Dead Set Play Video
• Pacing Like Prince Play Video

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2 activities (last edit by Herlon , 28 Apr 2024, 19:12 Etc/UTC )

Songs on Albums

• Break the Silence
• Bright Side
• Closer to God
• Head Above Water
• I Was Just Leaving
• Never Gonna Be
• Outside Looking In
• Pacing Like Prince
• Til the End
• Time and Again
• Honeymoon Eyes
• Let the Morning In by The Skip
• The Stroke by Billy Squier
• 75 and Sunny

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Ryan Montbleau Band

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Ryan Montbleau Band Gig Timeline

• Nov 19 2023 The Pour House Music Hall Raleigh, NC, USA Add time Add time
• Dec 16 2023 Brighton Music Hall Boston, MA, USA Add time Add time
• Apr 26 2024 The Warehouse at the Fairfield Theatre Company This Setlist Fairfield, CT, USA Add time Add time

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Saturday 11 November 2023

Ryan Montbleau

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316 South Main Street 48104 Ann Arbor, MI, US (734) 761-1818 www.theark.org/

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Ryan Montbleau Gets Personal About His Strong Connection with Tall Heights & Deep Love for Music

Ryan Montbleau teamed up with Tall Heights for an intimate interpretation of Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “Helplessly Hoping,” and Atwood Magazine spoke with him about its inception!

P roud Massachusetts natives Ryan Montbleau and Tall Heights have both set a foundation for successful careers. A prolific folk singer, Montbleau has crafted his stunning sound since the early 2000s as well as performed alongside greats like Tedeschi Trucks Band and Mavis Staples. Tall Heights started out busking on Boston streets and now plays crowded venues.

It only makes sense they would come together to form the ideal pairing, creating extraordinary covers that leave listeners awestruck. Their latest collaboration, a cover of Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “ Helplessly Hoping ,” is a passionate and gentle release that grips you deep inside. Montbleau’s tender, soulful vocals are a perfect complement to Tall Heights’ lush, dreamy sound.

In this time of many changes and uncertainties, humanity is helplessly hoping for answers. The beauty of a track like this is it brings people together through its profound message and heartfelt delivery.

Atwood Magazine interviewed Ryan Montbleau discussing their choice to cover this poignant song, the process behind making it, and more.

Listen: “Helplessly Hoping – Ryan Montbleau

A conversation with ryan montbleau.

Ryan Montbleau: Tim and Paul (Tall Heights) are so dialed in after years and years of singing together that it just creates this dreamy bed of vocals onto which I can add my own voice. We also seem to be really good at arranging songs together. If it’s a cover, we pay reverence to the original while still making it our own.

Ryan Montbleau: They asked me if I wanted to do that song and I immediately said yes without any doubt. It was about as simple as that. The original is just one of the most beautiful tracks ever, in my opinion. I always wanted to sing it but it definitely has to be harmonized. A collaboration with Tall Heights? Yes, yes, yes.

Ryan Montbleau: I’ve been live-streaming every week from my apartment and the response has been pretty overwhelming. There is so much gratitude out there, so much appreciation for music and for art in general right now. So I’ve been staying focused on that while also trying to finish a record I started before all of this. People are inside, but there is so much going on! No shortage of work to do for a musician right now. I also started taking piano lessons online. But in the grand scheme of things, I just have faith that this will all bring us closer together somehow in the long run. If there was ever a sign that we’re all in this together, this is it.

Ryan Montbleau: I had been in the studio for 11 days in southern Vermont tracking for my own record. Tall Heights came in on day 12 and that’s when we recorded “Helplessly Hoping.” We all did our homework beforehand, texting each other different ideas for doing it in different keys. When we all got in a room finally and tried it together, we settled on the original key and rehearsed it right there in the studio. After a few hours of work, we had it.

Ryan Montbleau: I watched them play two songs and it was immediately clear that 1) They are great at what they do, 2) I am really moved by what they do, and 3) What they do was and is very much in the vein of this “Indy Folk” movement that has been a huge deal in recent years. So it was just this greatness on different levels that was undeniable. I think we also share a kind of “Boston-ness,” if that makes any sense. The hang was immediately easy and funny and we just all get along.

Listen: “Helplessly Hoping” – Ryan Montbleau & Tall Heights

Ryan Montbleau: My father gave me a guitar for Christmas when I was 8 years old. But it wasn’t until I was 18 or so and went off to college, got depressed, listened to all kinds of music that blew my mind… that was when I started writing and playing guitar all the time like my life depended on it. I’ve basically been playing ever since.

Ryan Montbleau: Oh man, there are so many from over the years I’m not sure how to pick one. It’s not really a funny story but my first solo tour ever was in 2003 and I set out by myself from Massachusetts in a 1987 Toyota conversion van where the engine was under the front seats. That engine blew a head gasket in the middle of the desert on I-70 in Colorado/Utah and was towed 100 miles to the nearest town, which was just this graveyard of busted cars, basically.

I rented a car on a credit card, played shows down the west coast, and then somewhere in LA my appendix burst. I didn’t realize that’s what had happened until I had surgery in Las Vegas 3-4 days later. After a week in the hospital, I caught a ride with a friend who was driving a truck, picked my fixed van back up, and drove back to Massachusetts with a fresh appendectomy scar.

At one point I drove 20 hours straight and then hit 5 hours of stopped bumper to bumper traffic in the blazing heat with nowhere to turn off, no shade, certainly no A/C. I was as thin as a rail just sweating, crying, wanting to get back home. But eventually, I made it. After that first tour, none of the others have felt so bad, really.

Ryan Montbleau: Absolutely, we’ve played a fair amount of shows together over the years. I put out a live “Woodstock Sessions” record last year that features Tall Heights on several tracks. We don’t get to play live together as much as we used to or as much as we’d like, but it’s pretty special when we get to do it. We’re planning on putting together a remote/quarantine version of “Helplessly Hoping” in the coming weeks. I live-stream solo from my FB and Instagram pages every Friday night at 8pm EDT.

Ryan Montbleau: That is a mighty high compliment, thank you very much. I still don’t know how to quickly describe my music, maybe I never will? I’m a singer-songwriter. The songs are driven by the lyrics. Musically there is soul, folk, Americana, there can be some of everything really. You tell me!

Ryan Montbleau: I really can’t overstate how powerful the live-streams have been. They seem to keep getting better too, I think last week was the most powerful connection I’ve ever felt in that format. And I’m putting out new music too. This track with Tall Heights was a big one. I’ve also been putting out little videos of new songs, new covers. I did a cover of Elton John’s “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues” that got a big response. I also did Bill Withers’ “Grandma’s Hands.” I’m writing too, but that tends to be more of a slow burn. With social media and the livestreams, I feel as connected to fans as ever right now, maybe more.

R yan Montbleau: Andy Shauf, Lyle Brewer, Garrett Mason, Andy Frasco, Rosemont Post, Martin Sexton, Anders Osborne, Deb Talan.

Ryan Montbleau: I’m going to eat these tamales that my girlfriend just made more of me. She and her daughter moved in during this quarantine so my life has gone from so lonesome for so long, to so not-lonesome so recently. It’s like a miracle. So I’m hopefully going to experience this new life filled with love and I’m going to finish my record as well as I can while the rest of us are distancing. I’m going to keep playing these live-streams, keep connecting and helping however I can, and I’m going to practice piano.

Connect to Ryan Montbleau on Facebook , Twitter , Instagram

Discover new music on atwood magazine, :: stream ryan montbleau   ::.

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Ryan Montbleau Live at The Warehouse & FTC- Fairfield, CT on 2024-04-26

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• Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Best of Moscow by high speed train

By shuguley , February 15, 2014 in Regent Seven Seas Cruises

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Sure would appreciate someone who has taken "Best of Moscow by high speed train" from St. Petersburg could please share their impressions of this shore excursion. From the description this sounds like a very long day.

Wondering how the 4 hour train trip was in terms of accommodations, etc. Also what time did you leave the ship and what time at night did you return? Were both legs of the trip on the high speed rail (I read that slower trains also travel the same tracks)?

My wife and I are considering this excursion. We thought that if we are making all the effort to go to Russia then how could we pass up going to Moscow, walking in Red Square, seeing St. Basil, etc.

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If you are considering this on the 2015 June Baltic cruise on Voyager; my suggestion is don't. There is so much to do in St. Petersburg and although a train is one of my favorite ways to travel the time would be far better spent in St. P.

Thanks for the advice. Yes, this would be on the Voyager during the 2015 season but not yet sure exactly which cruise.

We did the Moscow excursion "on a different luxury line", but from your brief description it sounds very much like the same trip, so I will operate on that assumption. It is a VERY long day! We left the ship at 5:30 AM and returned at 12:30 AM. The highspeed train trip is comfortable, and while they call it "Business Class" it does not compare well to the equivalent class on say Rail Europe. When we did it in 2011, we did have highspeed both ways, and the trip back seemed much longer as the adrenaline and excitement had worn off!:D

Moscow itself is not that terribly different from any other big city in the world, but this Cold War kid never thought he would ever stand in Red Square, never mind walk the grounds of The Kremlin, or tour The Kremlin Palace, or see (but not visit) Lenin's Tomb, or visit The Armoury. But he did, and he loved every minute of it! Yes, it is a long day, and you barely scratch a scratch on the surface, but it is worth it. There is a tremendous amount to see in St. Petersburg, but every Baltic cruise goes to St. Petersburg, so you can go back if you choose to. Not every cruiseline offers you the chance to see Moscow.

I have not personally done this tour, but our last time in St Petersburg, the private guide that we hired for a day was leading the regent tour to Moscow on the high speed train the next day. He said it was way better than the previous alternative, which was flying to Moscow and back. He said that you actually got to Moscow faster because you didn't have to deal with airline checkin etc. it did seem like a very long day to me, and there is so much to see and do in st. Petersburg that I didn't consider doing it.

countflorida

We toured to Moscow from St. Petersburg via the hi-speed SAPSAN train last September, from a Baltic cruise on the Oceania Marina. You need to have a two-night, three day port call in St. Petersburg to take this tour because the tour typically leaves the ship around 5:00 - 5:30 AM and doesn't return until after midnight the next day. We didn't take the ship's tour; we made private arrangements with TravelAllRussia for three days of touring, the first and third days in St. Petersburg and the second day the tour to Moscow by train. Our cost for the private tour for three days was about the same as what the ship charged for the excursion to Moscow alone. There are a number of private tour agencies that operate in St. Petersburg and offer the Moscow train tours; we would strongly recommend them over the ship's tours.

All three days had private guides with car and driver. The second day, the driver picked us up at the ship and took us to the train, but we were alone on the train, and met in Moscow by the guide on the station platform. After our tour and dinner, we were brought back to the train and after the return train trip met by the driver and taken back to the ship. Because you are alone on the train you must have your own Russian visas.

If this is your first visit to St. Petersburg, I would agree there is much more to see there. We found Moscow somewhat a disappointment, particularly Red Square. The Kremlin and the cathedral in Red Square were also worth seeing. But the best thing we saw was the Moscow subway! I worked for the Washington Metro system back in the 1980s as it grew from 40 to 80 miles and although I was in the computer area, I learned a lot about the challenges of running a subway system. We used the Moscow system to get across the city from where we had dinner to the train station, and I was amazed at the cleanliness', speed of operation, the short headways maintained, and the courtesy of everyone involved. A very impressive experience!

We had been to St. Petersburg before, and so had the time to take a day and go to Moscow. Also, I really like trains, and the SAPSAN is a German train set running on Russian rails. Seats are like first class domestic air, spacious but not too plush or comfortable, but with enough room. Not too much recline, and almost 8 hours on the train in two shots is a lot for an old man. They come through and sell drinks, candy, etc. but the sellers don't speak English and no one around us helped, so we had just poor coffee once coming, and brought stuff with us for the trip back. Not too much to see from the train either, particularly on the return when it is night the whole way.

If you decide to go, take a private tour and avoid the overly expensive ship's tour. I'm glad we did it, but wouldn't bother to repeat the tour; we've seen Moscow.

Thanks so much to all of you for the thorough and thought insight. Yhe information you have provided is most helpful.

countflorida: Your detailed post is very helpful. We are not quite ready for a Baltic cruise but should do so within a year. Time enough to do our pre travel research, bookings and visa gathering.:) Thank you!

Emperor Norton

Sure would appreciate someone who has taken "Best of Moscow by high speed train" from St. Petersburg could please share their impressions of this shore excursion. From the description this sounds like a very long day.   Wondering how the 4 hour train trip was in terms of accommodations, etc. Also what time did you leave the ship and what time at night did you return? Were both legs of the trip on the high speed rail (I read that slower trains also travel the same tracks)?   My wife and I are considering this excursion. We thought that if we are making all the effort to go to Russia then how could we pass up going to Moscow, walking in Red Square, seeing St. Basil, etc.

I did this on Seabourn. IMO DONT. Take Aeroflop (er Aeroflot). The train has non folding seats where you are literally knee to knee with your fellow passenger (facing each other). Further they don't believe in air conditioning. It's also the worlds slowed bullet train. I think I would have found more enjoyment wandering around the St. Petersburg and Moscow airports.

Countflorida,

This is a little off topic,, however we had planned a river cruise in Russia but decided we would rather stay on land and have booked about two weeks with Travel-All-Russia using the private guide and driver. I'm curious as to how you found them as a tour company.

The guides they provided were fine. We had a different guide each of the days in St. Petersburg, but both were flexible, pleasant, knowledgeable and spoke English very well, as did the guide in Moscow, incidentally. She was a bit aloof, distant, not too friendly, but otherwise fine. In fact, she was the one who suggested taking the Metro, which unexpectedly became one of the highlights of the Moscow excursion. If I have a complaint with AllTravelRussia, it is with their plan and its execution (more later).

I had requested emphasis on World War II (in Russia, the Great Patriotic War) sites and info. In scheduling us, they weren't careful about dates and a couple of the sites we wanted to see were scheduled on the third day, after we'd been to Moscow. But both sites were closed that day of the week, and that info was readily available, right on web sites describing them. Also, the included meals (lunches in St. Pete, dinner in Moscow) were not what we asked for: light meals with some choices, so we could avoid things we didn't like and choose things we did like. My request was ignored; we were given full Russian meals with a fixed menu, no choice. On the first day, a fish dish was the entre, but I am allergic to fish. Fortunately, I had the e-mail I'd sent with me and showed it to the guide, and she was able to change my entre to chicken, which was very good actually. But we didn't want a 3-4 course lunches or dinner (in Moscow). We had the guide drop the lunch the third day, although we never got any credit or refund. But, particularly in contrast to the ship's tours, the prices were so reasonable we didn't worry too much about it.

The people who were on the ship's tour to Moscow saw us boarding the same train for which they were forced to queue up and wait on the way back, and asked us what we had done. I was candid and open so they were not happy when I explained what we had arranged and particularly what it had cost. Also, when we returned to the ship, we found they had laid on a late supper for those who had gone to Moscow, so up we went and had something. Well, it turns out the late supper was supposed to be just for those on the ship's tour, but we and others on 'independent' tours, there were a dozen or more of us, crashed the party, actually got there first, and they didn't realize it until the larger group arrived and there weren't enough tables/places set. By that time, the 'independents' had all gotten served and were eating; what could they do?

A couple from the larger group sat down with us and asked us about our tour, and they were the ones I told about our arrangement and its cost. They turned to others who’d been with them and announced the details, loudly enough so the whole room heard, which started a lot of bitching and complaining. I gathered they weren't very happy with the ship's tour to begin with, and this was the straw that broke the camel's back. We finished up and beat it out of there, but overheard later that one of the excursion staff came to check on something and ran into a real mess. I caught a cold on the trip, which forced me to bed the second day following in Tallinn, so by the time we reappeared we heard about the contretemps' but apparently no one recalled who started it, thankfully.

Because of what happened to us, I would probably not use AllTravelRussia if I were to go again, or if I did, I would be sure to get confirmation of every detail of the tour. They do have good reviews generally, and we were certainly helped by their visa department and liked the guides and drivers. Their weakness, I say now with full 20:20 hindsight, is that once the sales person who plans the tour, sells it to you and collects your money, he (or she) transfers the plan to their Russia office for implementation; there is no follow-up to make sure it gets done right. And that is where our problems arose; we paid for a custom tour but got a standard package with a few destinations switched, and no one checked them out, even to see when they were open the day we were scheduled to go. If you check every detail that’s important to you, it should be OK, but that’s a hell of a way to have to do business, in my opinion.

Thank you for the 20/20 hindsight observation on your Russian tour operator, and better priced than the ship's excursion cost.

Thanks very much for the feedback.

We had the same experience as you so far as price. We originally booked a Viking Cruise but, hearing some things about the river cruises that made us unhappy, looked into other options. T-A-R cost the same or less than a cruise and had us in hotels for 11 days. We opted for the private tour. They have three tour levels, based on hotels. We originally opted for the four star as it did not cost much more than the three star hotels. Finally we decided to throw it all in and upgraded to five star. In Moscow we will be at the newly opened Kempinsky which is two blocks from Red Square. In St. Petersburg it is the Grand Hotel Europe, one of the most vaunted luxury hotels in Russia. Location is important for us as the tours use up only part of the day so being in the center of everything for our independent touring is important. As with many other cities, the less you pay, the farther out of the center of town you are.

We have been working with our salesman in D.C. and he seems to get back to us with the changes we want. He recently returned from Russia so is up on everything. When I asked they said they paid the full TA commission if I wanted so I got my usual TA on board so he is watching our back and giving us that extra level of comfort. He also set up our air, which I know pays him little or nothing, and got us business class for much less than T-A-R wanted for economy, though it took working for a while with a consolidator. He's happy to get his 10 percent on this trip without having booked it. He also took care of the trip insurance. We've been doing a lot of research on the CC sister site Trip Advisor and will write a report there. We will, I guess, become a source of info for CC members after having spent 5 days in Moscow and 6 in SP.

• 4 months later...

scubacruiserx2

Anybody considering a day trip to Moscow from St. Petersburg on the Sapsan may want to look at our travelogue filled with pictures.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1927687

Very informative. Thanks dor sharing. Jeff

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