‘Embers’ adds glow to Ryan Lunn’s music career
Personal song about rekindling relationships strikes right chord worldwide
Ryan Lunn, with his wife Jill, has spent plenty of time nurturing the careers of aspiring musicians, hosting songwriting nights and other events to help musicians from across Niagara get heard.
Now, it is Lunn’s turn and it seems the world is taking notice.
His latest single, “Embers,” has begun to be added to the rotation at terrestrial and internet radio stations in places including Australia, Great Britain and, that most coveted market of all, the United States. In the U.K., the song is No. 3 on the independent country charts.
Not bad for a song that was not even destined originally to be put down on tape.
Lunn was named songwriter of the year at the 2019 Niagara Music Awards and part of his prize was a trip to Nashville to work with Tawgs Salter, a onetime resident of Ridgeway who now calls Tennessee home.
“I brought three songs with me and played them,” Lunn said.
“Tawgs was kind of, meh. I told him I had one more.”
That song was “Embers.” Salter immediately got into the song, Lunn said, adding parts until it had been polished as much as possible.
“Four hours later, he’d created this rich tapestry.”
Finishing touches were added back in Niagara by Daniel Belasco in his Niagaraon- the- Lake studio to ready the song for release.
The song has some humble, but deeply personal origins for the Lincoln singer-songwriter.
“I had written it as a Valentine’s Day gift for Jill ( back in 2019),” Lunn said.
“I began performing it live as a call-and-response song. I wanted to pay tribute to Jill and tell a little segment of our story.”
It’s a song about being busy and finding time to recharge your batteries, Lunn said.
With their fingers in several musical and art ventures, life could often become hectic and involve weekend getaways to the Clarion Hotel in Fort Erie, which is used as a backdrop for much of the music video for “Embers.”
“We would leave everyone behind,” Lunn said.
Once it was completed, DOC Entertainment, agents for both Ryan and Jill, got behind the single and a massive public relations effort has helped the song get into as many ears as possible.
“They’ve kicked down the doors and sent the song out worldwide,” Lunn said.
And now that deeply personal song for Lunn is being shared all over the world, something that has left him gobsmacked.
“It shows the strength of that song,” Lunn said.