Ryan+
Name: the name is the name, I’m me!
Ryan Henry has been chasing music most of his life.
As a kid he was already escaping his crib in the middle of the night to bang on pots and pans in the kitchen like a drum kit — which his mom swears happened more than once. Whether that means he was a drummer in a past life is still up for debate.
Ryan cut his teeth in Wilmington’s punk scene playing in bands like The Madd Hatters, touring the East Coast and sharing stages with groups like Streetlight Manifesto, Voodoo Glow Skulls, The Toasters, MU330, and The Slackers, including a stop at the legendary CBGB’s in New York.
After that chapter ended he did what any reasonable punk musician might do — bought a van and spent the next several years wandering the country playing music wherever people would listen. Cities, festivals, street corners, bars… if there was space to open a guitar case, he probably played there. Sometimes for eight or ten hours straight.
These days Ryan is back in Wilmington writing songs and making noise with Ryan Henry and The Bastards, building something loud, honest, and worth showing up for.
Jim+
Jim is a Wilmington, NC–based keyboardist, bass player, guitarist, and vocalist with more than 45 years of experience onstage and in the studio.
Over the decades, he’s had the chance to open for artists across the musical map, including Joan Jett, Rick Derringer, Gary U.S. Bonds, John Butcher Axis, the James Montgomery Blues Band, The Romantics, The Ramones, Foghat, The Charlie Daniels Band, and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.
These days, Jim splits his time between two projects he’s proud to be part of: the high-energy Ryan Henry and The Bastards, and the blues-rock outfit Blind Dillon.
What keeps him going after all these years is simple—he loves performing. Music has always been the thing that steadies him, lifts him, and gives him purpose. It’s his medicine, and he brings that sense of gratitude and grounding to every stage he steps onto.
No matter the venue or the lineup, Jim approaches every show the same way he did when he first started—serve the song, support the band, and keep the music honest.