Ryan is a bassist, singer/songwriter, and music educator from Fairbanks, Alaska. He started singing as a child, started playing for dances at 13, and got his first bass at 17. Since then, he has been in a list of bands which includes Slightly Askew, Ice Jam, Outbound, Lost Dog Stringband, The Xtra-Tuffs, Eel House, Rock Bottom Stompers, The Norris Bowers Band, and Ryan Bowers and the Brain Trust.

He studied voice at UAF, bass and songwriting at Berklee College of Music, and graduated from UAF with a BA in Music. He has toured and recorded with many groups, and is about to release his first solo album Sweet Calamity, recorded and mixed in Fairbanks at 10th Planet Studio.

Ryan has experience in a wide variety of styles, including bluegrass, old-time, country, folk, contra dance, rock, indie, jazz, pop, and chamber music. He has taught music camps, workshops, and lessons since 2008, and taught at Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival in 2016 and 2017.

He is currently acting as American Roots Music Coordinator for the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, and as Vice President of the board of directors for the Fairbanks Folk Fest.