A 2007 Kellogg High School graduate has gone out into the world to make his mark on the music industry.

This spring, Casey Ryan will be returning to his beloved North Idaho, where he is planning a 10-show run.

"I always come back to Coeur d'Alene. It's my home base," Ryan said in a Jan. 27 phone interview with The Press. "I’m really looking forward to coming back home and playing some meaningful shows for the people who mean the most to me."

Ryan is an independent, alternative singer-songwriter who has always had a knack for music. His style is road trip-worthy, a sound that could be found on a radio station like 95.3 KPND.

"I started playing guitar when I was 13," he said. "I made up my mind then, that’s what I wanted to do."

In his youth, Ryan played local talent shows and was even voted "most likely to be a famous musician" in high school.

Ryan, who now lives in Tucson, recalled how he felt when he released his first original song, "Music and Love," at the encouragement of his best friend.

"'Music and Love' got 25,000 downloads in the first few months," Ryan said. "That blew my mind. It's the first time I put anything out."

In 2014, he opened for the rock band Third Eye Blind in Denver. That was his first big show.

Although his heart called him to music, Ryan stuck with academia and earned a degree in social psychology from the University of Idaho and a doctorate in clinical interpersonal psychotherapy from the University of Colorado.

"I always loved school. The goal was to get a doctorate," he said. "Right around the time I got signed to Vagrant Records is when I finished my schooling."

He signed a record deal to be a part of Vagrant Records' Hymn & Her act in early 2016, when he moved to southern California and proceeded to tour 26 European countries in four months.

Ryan parted ways with Vagrant but continues to perform more than 200 shows a year all over the western U.S. — L.A., Seattle, Denver, Portland — as well as Coeur d'Alene, where his mom still resides.

His music has received regional and national acclaim. He has garnered nearly a million streams on Spotify and thousands of downloads through all distribution networks. In 2019, his single, "Nothing, Now," was added to several official playlists.

Following the release of his 2020 single "Damaged," he was endorsed as a pro artist by Breedlove Guitars and G7th Capo Company and he is a sponsored brand influencer for Liquid I.V. and Vuori Clothing.

Ryan is also the mind behind and the star of "The Starving Artist," a music-centered podcast dedicated to providing insight and advice for those looking to expand their audiences and enhance their careers.

"COVID effectively rendered me unemployed," Ryan said. "I’ve had to adapt, so I started a podcast."

Ryan is in the process of finalizing his newest EP, "The Color of Joy," which is set to be released March 1.

“Typically when I write music like this, it comes from a place of pain. I don't really write music when I'm happy. 'The Color of Joy' is a hidden meaning," he said. "The track I'm putting out is something completely different than I’ve ever done. I wanted to write an album where the songs were reflected as being warm with themes of melancholy in them, but also happy elements within them, that can be perceived as joyful to the listener."

Visit www.caseyryanmusic.com to sample Ryan's music and view his official music videos.