If recent history is any indication, Friday’s upcoming Ryan Montbleau Band show at Putnam Den will draw one of the larger crowds on that popular live music club’s spring concert calendar. It will also offer some fresh New Orleans-inspired surprises to those attending.
From the 2004 genesis of its first public performance at the former Club Caroline locally, the Boston-based blues/roots rockers have since grown a huge, loyal fan base nationally (including the US Virgin Islands), performed at many of the country’s top festivals and even opened amphitheater shows for Dave Matthews.
Expect a full house when the band returns to their favored venue as part of their current national tour on Friday, hitting the stage after a 9 p.m. start by Richard James & The Name Changers.
Songs for Montbleau typically need to simmer. In his 10-year career, this gifted singer and his limber band have built their catalog the old-fashioned way: by introducing new songs to their live set, then bending and shaping them over dozens of performances before committing a definitive version to the hard drive.
At 35, he’s a late-bloomer who’s right on time. Montbleau didn’t start singing and playing guitar in earnest until he was in college. Later, working at the House of Blues in Boston, he began playing solo sets there as a warmup act. His band came together naturally, over time, planting strong roots in coffee shops, folk venues and rock clubs before converting audiences on an outdoor festival circuit that now stretches across the country. Through word of mouth and repeat visits, the band has built a devoted following from the Northeast to Chicago, Seattle and Austin.
