Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ronan Andrews. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Ronan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I am very happy to be an artist. There are obviously many moments that are challenging but I realized any career I decide to pursue is going to have pain points. The only time I’ve ever thought about pursuing a different career path is when I felt strapped for money. My first year outside of college I was working three jobs all related to music education. At this time I was also gigging whenever I could. I was living paycheck to paycheck and found myself often wondering why I chose this path. It was draining and exhausting.

Luckily, I found a job that worked with live music and payed me enough to live on my own with money to spare. The best part of this new job was that it gave me time to focus on aspects of music that I really wanted to. There were aspects of music education that I really enjoyed, but felt like I wasn’t getting enough time to song-write and collaborate with other artists.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Ronan Andrews and I’m a singer/songwriter based out of Denver, CO. The kind of music I create is a blend of pop, rock, soul and funk. I began songwriting when I was 17 years old. I had been playing piano from the age of six and had been wanting to get into singing. With my knowledge of music and my affinity for being creative, the whole songwriting process came very easily to me. Aside from songwriting, I love to perform with my band Fresh Fruit! and have also dabbled in music education. What sets me apart from other artists is my desire to not be put into a musical box. I take influence from many genres and I hope my music emulates that. I’ve also been told that I have an ‘old soul’ because of my affinity for older music. My goal as a songwriter is to combine the best elements of classic and modern music.

What I’m most proud of as a songwriter is my urge to keep sticking with it. It’s a very competitive industry, and opportunities come few and far between. But creating music gives me the most joy and allows me to express the deepest parts of myself. I want my music to represent the best and weirdest parts of myself. It’s scary putting myself out there, but I hope me doing it can inspire people to do the same. The future is exciting because I have lots of singles and EPs ready to be released under my solo name and with my band Fresh Fruit! I’m eager to break out of the Denver music scene and hopefully reach new audiences!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the ability to create is why I have any purpose. If I didn’t have music to express my feelings, I would be so lost. What’s rewarding is that I’ve found an outlet that comes naturally to me. Being an artist allows people to see me in my truest form. The creativity comes from all my life experiences. The relationships, crazy life events, to the most basic daily routines, creativity exists everywhere. That’s what makes it so cool, the more life experiences I have, the more I have to pull from when creating.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I firmly believe that everyone has the ability to be creative. For some of us, it’s more unlocked, but maybe we had the space to be creative. It’s the early formative years that help people learn that being creative is apart of us all. I think a big step to creating a thriving creative ecosystem is for schools and institutions to incorporate a more positive space for anyone to create. To teach students that anytime they improvise or run with an idea, that’s creating!

As much as art is worshiped and utilized in everyday culture, I still believe that lots of art is taken for granted. Any public space we go into, we expect to first see art on the walls, and for music to be playing in the background. If there’s more of an incentive to advocate creative thinking in education, I believe that people who interact with art in any setting can have more admiration for it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ronanandrewsmusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ronan.andrews.music/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ronan.andrews.music

Image Credits
Samantha Peltz Victoria Enyart