Annalyse & Ryan are an Americana duo based in Beacon, NY. Their sound and songs take listeners on a soulful, rootsy journey. The duo’s strong harmonies melt together seamlessly with an undeniable edge. The duo’s 2023 EP, Trilogy, available on all major streaming platforms, can be described as uplifting, epic, and heartfelt. Their single “Tough Luck” from this project was just awarded Silver in Adult Contemporary in the 2024 Songwriter’s Association of Washington Mid-Atlantic Song Contest. The project was produced by Justin Guip (Levon Helm, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, Hot Tuna) at Milan Hill Studio.

A&R’s 2021 single "Singing with Angels" premiered in American Songwriter in October 2021. Its corresponding music video came out soon after, making its debut in The Bluegrass Situation. The song, an ode to the late music legend John Prine, begins on a personal note inspired by a chance meeting they had with the folk superstar in a grocery store in Nashville, TN, and expands into a sweeping chorus which declares that the late songwriter is now singing with the angels. Aside from this personal story, the tune speaks of the power and eternal quality of "The Song," which lives on even after its creator has passed.

The music that Annalyse & Ryan create is a symbiotic clash reminiscent of their differing senses of place, yet their ironically parallel styles of seeing the world. 

Annalyse McCoy grew up in the hills of eastern Kentucky, descended from the survivors and storytellers of the famous McCoy-Hatfield feud. A combination of pure genetics and the Appalachian culture in which she was fostered naturally brought about deep storytelling and true Country music tradition to Annalyse’s craft.

Ryan Dunn was raised on the New Jersey shore surfing and singing boardwalk doo-wop. The influence of the ocean and a respect and love for diversity and inclusion led to a native tendency in Ryan to create variegated and relatable grooves that resonate with all listeners. 

A&R have shared the stage or studio with:

Kathy Mattea  |  Jimmy Vivino  |  Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams

 The Black Lillies  | CHATHAM COUNTY LINE |  Jack Petruzzelli | Big Kenny | Smithfield

...and more.

Dunn and McCoy met in New York City through the musical theatre community. The two have found much success individually as actors — Ryan was featured in such productions as Camelot at Lincoln Center with the NY Philharmonic, alongside Gabriel Byrne, Fran Drescher, Christopher Lloyd, & Marin Mazzie; as well as the Off-Broadway production of the ensemble a cappella musical In Transit (co-written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez of Frozen fame) at the York Theater. Annalyse’s face & voice have been featured in commercial spots for GMC, iHeart Radio, Pepsi, Circle K, and more. She has also narrated several audiobooks by multiple best-selling authors, and she has performed in a number of regional theatres across the country as well as in prestigious festivals such as the NY Musical Theatre Fest.

Upon meeting, however, Annalyse & Ryan immediately bonded over their shared true passion: The Music. In 2009, along with their friend, Broadway actor Rob Marnell, the two started their first original project together: 2/3 Goat. The band recorded its first album at Tainted Blue Studios in Times Square, NYC. The act eventually grew to six pieces with changing members through the years, but Annalyse and Ryan remained staples as the group’s songwriters and lead singers. In 2011, the group released its romping anthem “Stream of Conscience,” a song which spoke strongly against the devastating practice of mountaintop removal coal mining, a practice that affects the communities of central Appalachia where Annalyse was raised. This song gained recognition in multiple publications, and the band & their call-to-action song were a strong voice at numerous rallies, festivals, and events surrounding social & environmental justice. The tune was also the title track to their second album, recorded straight to tape by Chris Mara at 1979 Studios in Nashville, TN, on a console originally owned by the famous Porter Wagoner.

2/3 Goat’s third album Let It Rise was released in 2016. Half of the songs on the record were engineered at Audio Paint Studios in NYC by Charlie Martinez (Donald Fagen, Steely Dan, multiple Broadway cast recordings) and produced by Scott Sharrard (Gregg Allman Band, Little Feat). The other half were recorded at Asher’s Place and County Q Studios, both in Nashville, and were produced by Noel Golden (Lee Ann Womack, Whitesnake). Through the years of extensive touring and recording, 2/3 Goat made a name for itself as an emerging Americana act (described by Lee Zimmerman in No Depression as "one fine ensemble" whose "every song [on 2016 album Let It Rise] is outstanding").

Annalyse & Ryan then began branching out into various songwriting projects and a musical duo of their own, serving as opening act for many established musicians including Kathy Mattea, Jimmy Vivino, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, Smithfield, and others. Notable venues they’ve played include Levon Helm Studios (Woodstock, NY), Le Poisson Rouge (NYC), The Jefferson Theater (Charlottesville, VA), Towne Crier (Beacon, NY), The Turning Point (Piermont, NY), and many more. 

Their music has led them across the US and Europe, from art houses to house concerts, from festival stages to college campuses, to gritty Lower East Side venues and more. In 2018, Annalyse & Ryan were among a handpicked few regularly-featured artists at the Grand Ole Opry’s Times Square venue, Opry City Stage. Their songs have been featured in movies, TV shows, documentaries, + commercials — on outlets including CBS, the BBC, Amazon Prime, and more. Annalyse & Ryan have also co-written several songs for Mattel’s American Girl show Wellie Wishers as well as the recent reboot of Thomas & Friends through Imaginigami Productions.

Annalyse & Ryan’s 2020 single “When the Rain” was awarded Finalist in Americana in the Songwriters’ Association of Washington Mid-Atlantic Song Contest. Being a love song, “When the Rain” is an anomaly for the two; the couple confesses that they haven’t written a lot of traditional love songs, instead usually pouring their heart onto paper about issues such as social justice, class struggles, broad-spectrum affairs of the human condition, and nature. Nature does play a part in this tune: inspiration for “When the Rain” originated during a downpour in the woods of western North Carolina, where Ryan sat on the porch and simply pressed “Record,” capturing the sound of the rain and riffing off of it with his guitar. Friend + fellow musician Lincoln Foley Schofield later hosted Annalyse & Ryan at his studio near Syracuse, NY, where he joined in the co-write and engineered the song. “When the Rain” was mixed by Justin Guip (Levon Helm, Hot Tuna, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams).

The duo’s next release is slated for spring 2023.