Janet Ryan is a recognizable name in the Northeastern U.S. She developed a taste for the blues while living in Chicago, where Janet soaked up the sound in the juke joints of the Windy City's north side for many years, hanging out with Koko Taylor, Magic Slim and Big Twist and The Mellow Fellows. She was soon invited to sit in with some great players. Janet also had the great honor of singing with Duke Ellington when she was only 16.

Janet brought her powerful blues presence to the East coast and earned her living performing throughout Connecticut, New Jersey and New York. She performed at a host of venues including The Iron Horse Music Hall, the Pines Theater, the Pioneer Valley Blues Festival, the Peach Festival and the Splendor in the Grass Festival. After the release of her CDs, Passion and Fire and Wrapped Up in Blue, Janet and her band, Straight Up, exploded onto the club scene, blowing the audiences away with their high energy rocking blues music.

Janet Ryan blends the wailing voice of the blues with a unique soulful sound that takes her music to another level. In Janet's singing and songwriting, you can hear and feel the influence of Etta James and Janis Joplin, the blues of Buddy Guy and Junior Wells and the soul of Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin. Janet Ryan and Straight Up Have shared the stage with or opened for John Hammond, Guitar Shorty, James Montgomery, Solomon Burke, Sherman Robertson, Little Ed and the Blues Imperials, James Cotton, Rod Piazza and the Mighty Fliers, The Holmes Brothers, Johnny Winter, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Sugar Ray and The Bluetones, Magic Dick and J. Geils, Monster Mike Welch, Chris Duarte, Dickey Betts, Michael Hill's Blues Mob, Charles Neville and Roomful of Blues.

In addition to delivering her soulful, belting performances live and on record, in recent years Janet has transmitted her passion by instructing children about the joys of music, becoming a music teacher at two elementary schools near her home in Conway, Massachusetts and also becoming a director of vocal music studies at a local school.

The latest installment of Janet's journey took her to Texas in August, 2012. The owners of CSP Records were watching a documentary in which Janet sang a snippet of one of the songs she had written. When Janet opened her mouth and that huge voice of hers belted forth, the owner, Jimmy Rogers, tracked her down and brought her to Texas to record what would become her new album, Mama Soul. Janet wowed everyone in the studio with her powerful voice and comforting soulful personality.

Mama Soul showcases Janet Ryan's powerfully soulful voice on a "baker's dozen" 13 tracks of mostly original material, along with her unique take on the Sippie Wallace blues chestnut, "Women Be Wise." The majority of the new CD was recorded at Audio Dallas Recording Studio in Garland, Texas, and produced by Jimmy Rogers and Paul Osborn; with two songs recorded at The Tone Zone in Holyoke, Massachusetts and produced by Ryan. The sessions feature Ryan supported by her long-time backing group, The Straight Up Band, as well as by members of the former Dallas-based outfit, Crosscut. This is one artist that everyone should see live. Janet grabs hold of a room and makes the audience hers. Her stage presence is invigorating and captivating. Janet Ryan IS Mama Soul! Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.