full name
ryland noah dove
nickname
ry to friends and family
birthdate & age
august 13, 1988; currently 26
hometown
amarillo, texas
residence
floats between london and new york
relationship status
single
pets
a calico cat named joan jett who has to be around 15 by now; she lives with his parents in scotland
although he was born into a musically inclined family, ryland dove was the first to manage a career out of it. joseph dove was a failed musician turned photographer, which he considered a success being that it was his second-most passion in the world. no one needed to know that it was commercial weather photography. not exactly what he’d imagined doing with his life, but he could have had it worse, he always thought. it brought him to the woman who would become his future life. on a year-long contract in the texas panhandle (a long way from his home of scotland), he fell in love with another failed musician. olivia taylor worked as a journalist for a smalltime newspaper, mostly doing fluff pieces on lemonade stands and adoptable puppies. her dreams of playing drums in a rock band had been shot down long ago by a controlling father, but that didn’t stop her from hitting up every open mic night she could with her fleetwood mac cover band made up of her fellow newspaper workers. this was where she met joe, using his accent and a guitar to shamelessly impress women. she wasn’t impressed, but she liked him anyhow, and the rest was history. it was only eleven months after they met that ryland was born. joseph’s contract was up, but it was the middle of tornado season, so the new family decided to stick around for the photo ops that were undoubtedly to come. weeks turned into months and when ryland was a year and a half old, they made the trek back across the pond.
olivia found a niche for herself at a small magazine based out of london, writing her own column as their american perspective. this gave her the opportunity to raise ryland while joseph traveled for work and this worked for a few years. as all good things do, however, this eventually came to an end. the magazine went under and olivia had to go back to a more constrictive and time consuming type of work. by this time, ryland was school-aged and spending most of his time there, but instead of leaving him all by himself when he came home from school, olivia and joseph enlisted the help of joseph’s eccentric father to watch ryland. since the death of ryland’s grandmother, his grandfather had been living in a senior community, and this became the place where ryland spent all of his afternoons and many of his summers until he was old enough to be on his own and moreover, old enough to decide that he didn’t need to go there anymore. it was here that he began to learn more about music. he’d already picked up quite a bit of guitar and was even learning the drums from his mother, but his grandfather was a different type of musician. harold dove could play anything that you put between his hands, which wasn’t a skill joseph had possessed even though his father had tried to impress it upon him as well. ryland, on the other hand, had apparently been born with this skill. by the time he was sixteen, he could play just about anything. from the guitar to the ukulele to the melodica to the accordion and then some, his interest in music was immense and he was playing cover concerts of old folksy music for the old folks’ community on a weekly basis. eventually he was even writing his own songs and composing his own music.
in what would unbeknownst to him become his last year of school, he met a group of lads at an open mic night (quite similar to the one where his father had met his mother) who each possessed some musical talent of their own and it didn’t take long for the four of them to discover that they were a good fit, emotionally and musically. magic happened between them. within a year they were playing glastonbury and recorded their self-titled ep and a second ep entitled love your ground later that year, releasing them on an indie label. they spent the majority of the next year touring and familiarizing domestic and foreign audiences alike to the music of their first two eps, backing up better known artists and learning the ways of the industry. the effect that this had on ryland wasn’t always good and he struggled on and off with staying sober, becoming the epitome of a functioning alcoholic in the few months after their first full-length album was released. it didn’t take long for the band and the album to start receiving critical acclaim; in fact, before sigh no more was even released, “little lion man” was being called the hottest record in the world by bbc radio 1. outside of the stage, ryland was quiet and reserved until drugs or alcohol came into the picture. embodying the rockstar persona was certainly not ever something that he’d imagined he’d be doing, but he found himself in a situation where unless he was drunk or high, he was anxious and intimidated by their ever-growing fame and the struggle to keep up the laid-back, comfortable, casual persona that they’d come to be known for at their shows. when 2011 brought around grammy award nominations, a very high-profile performance alongside bob dylan, and a subsequent win for album of the year, sales increased and so did their visibility. ryland found success battling his alcohol dependence by throwing himself into writing on their second album while on the railroad revival tour, which was documented for a film that later premiered at sxsw and also went on to win a grammy.
the band was fortunate enough to play saturday night live in september of 2012, two days before the release of their second album, known as babel. celebrity life was becoming more manageable for ryland with each passing show, the surreality and unbelievability of it having long since peaked. always being on the road allowed plenty of time for writing, but when words stopped coming to him as easily as they had the second time around, he found the bottle again. to say that he was ever completely sober would have been a lie, but his reliance upon alcohol seemed dependent solely upon his own mind’s creativity. when he hit a mental roadblock and then boredom set in, he turned to drinking in an effort to curtail that, which never truly seemed to work. towards the end of 2013, their efforts at writing their third album came to a close and the band decided to go on an indefinite hiatus. that didn’t put ryland down for the count, whose high profile still made his contributions desirable. in 2014 he recorded and wrote for an album of covers of bob dylan’s basement tapes with a group of musicians that came to be called the new basement tapes. the king of spreading himself too thin, even when he’d had every intention of taking a break from trying so hard to make creativity happen, it wasn’t long before he was getting the band together again to begin writing for their third album, which was recorded over the second half of 2014. an album release and months worth of headlining festivals and shows are right on the horizon, so long as ryland can keep his head on straight.
olivia found a niche for herself at a small magazine based out of london, writing her own column as their american perspective. this gave her the opportunity to raise ryland while joseph traveled for work and this worked for a few years. as all good things do, however, this eventually came to an end. the magazine went under and olivia had to go back to a more constrictive and time consuming type of work. by this time, ryland was school-aged and spending most of his time there, but instead of leaving him all by himself when he came home from school, olivia and joseph enlisted the help of joseph’s eccentric father to watch ryland. since the death of ryland’s grandmother, his grandfather had been living in a senior community, and this became the place where ryland spent all of his afternoons and many of his summers until he was old enough to be on his own and moreover, old enough to decide that he didn’t need to go there anymore. it was here that he began to learn more about music. he’d already picked up quite a bit of guitar and was even learning the drums from his mother, but his grandfather was a different type of musician. harold dove could play anything that you put between his hands, which wasn’t a skill joseph had possessed even though his father had tried to impress it upon him as well. ryland, on the other hand, had apparently been born with this skill. by the time he was sixteen, he could play just about anything. from the guitar to the ukulele to the melodica to the accordion and then some, his interest in music was immense and he was playing cover concerts of old folksy music for the old folks’ community on a weekly basis. eventually he was even writing his own songs and composing his own music.
in what would unbeknownst to him become his last year of school, he met a group of lads at an open mic night (quite similar to the one where his father had met his mother) who each possessed some musical talent of their own and it didn’t take long for the four of them to discover that they were a good fit, emotionally and musically. magic happened between them. within a year they were playing glastonbury and recorded their self-titled ep and a second ep entitled love your ground later that year, releasing them on an indie label. they spent the majority of the next year touring and familiarizing domestic and foreign audiences alike to the music of their first two eps, backing up better known artists and learning the ways of the industry. the effect that this had on ryland wasn’t always good and he struggled on and off with staying sober, becoming the epitome of a functioning alcoholic in the few months after their first full-length album was released. it didn’t take long for the band and the album to start receiving critical acclaim; in fact, before sigh no more was even released, “little lion man” was being called the hottest record in the world by bbc radio 1. outside of the stage, ryland was quiet and reserved until drugs or alcohol came into the picture. embodying the rockstar persona was certainly not ever something that he’d imagined he’d be doing, but he found himself in a situation where unless he was drunk or high, he was anxious and intimidated by their ever-growing fame and the struggle to keep up the laid-back, comfortable, casual persona that they’d come to be known for at their shows. when 2011 brought around grammy award nominations, a very high-profile performance alongside bob dylan, and a subsequent win for album of the year, sales increased and so did their visibility. ryland found success battling his alcohol dependence by throwing himself into writing on their second album while on the railroad revival tour, which was documented for a film that later premiered at sxsw and also went on to win a grammy.
the band was fortunate enough to play saturday night live in september of 2012, two days before the release of their second album, known as babel. celebrity life was becoming more manageable for ryland with each passing show, the surreality and unbelievability of it having long since peaked. always being on the road allowed plenty of time for writing, but when words stopped coming to him as easily as they had the second time around, he found the bottle again. to say that he was ever completely sober would have been a lie, but his reliance upon alcohol seemed dependent solely upon his own mind’s creativity. when he hit a mental roadblock and then boredom set in, he turned to drinking in an effort to curtail that, which never truly seemed to work. towards the end of 2013, their efforts at writing their third album came to a close and the band decided to go on an indefinite hiatus. that didn’t put ryland down for the count, whose high profile still made his contributions desirable. in 2014 he recorded and wrote for an album of covers of bob dylan’s basement tapes with a group of musicians that came to be called the new basement tapes. the king of spreading himself too thin, even when he’d had every intention of taking a break from trying so hard to make creativity happen, it wasn’t long before he was getting the band together again to begin writing for their third album, which was recorded over the second half of 2014. an album release and months worth of headlining festivals and shows are right on the horizon, so long as ryland can keep his head on straight.
studio albums
sigh no more (october 2009) 1. sigh no more 2. the cave 3. winter winds 4. roll away your stone 5. white blank page 6. i gave you all 7. little lion man 8. timshel 9. thistle & weeds 10. awake my soul 11. dust bowl dance 12. after the storm 13. hold on to what you believe (limited edition bonus track) babel (september 2012) 1. babel 2. whispers in the dark 3. i will wait 4. holland road 5. ghosts that we knew 6. lover of the light 7. lovers' eyes 8. reminder 9. hopeless wanderer 10. broken crown 11. below my feet 12. not with haste 13. for those below (deluxe edition bonus track) 14. the boxer (deluxe edition bonus track) 15. where are you now? (deluxe edition bonus track) wilder mind (may 2015) 1. tompkins square park 2. believe 3. the wolf 4. wilder mind 5. just smoke 6. monster 7. snake eyes 8. broad-shouldered beasts 9. cold arms 10. ditmas 11. only love 12. hot gates
live albums
live at shepherd's bush empire (october 2011)
the road to red rocks (november 2012)
extended plays
the dove brothers (july 2008)
love your ground (november 2008)
itunes festival: london 2009 (july 2009)
the dove brothers, laura marling, & dharohar project (july 2010)
itunes festival: london 2010 (july 2010)
the wedding band - the first dance (october 2010)
itunes festival: london 2012 (march 2013)
live from bull moose (april 2013)
contributions
"the enemy" from the soundtrack to wuthering heights (2011)
"not with haste" from the soundtrack to brave (2012)
"dink's song" from the soundtrack to inside llewyn davis (2013)
w/the new basement tapes
lost on the river: the new basement tapes (november 2014)
awards
2010: aria music awards - most popular international act
2010: q awards - best new act
2010: uk festival awards - breakthrough artist
2011: brit awards - british album of the year
2011: billboard music awards - top rock album, top alternative album, top alternative artist
2013: billboard music awards - top rock album
2013: brit awards - best british group
2013: echo awards - international rock/pop group
2013: juno awards - international album of the year
2013: grammy awards - album of the year, best long form music video (for big easy express)
2014: ivor novello awards - international achievement
sigh no more (october 2009) 1. sigh no more 2. the cave 3. winter winds 4. roll away your stone 5. white blank page 6. i gave you all 7. little lion man 8. timshel 9. thistle & weeds 10. awake my soul 11. dust bowl dance 12. after the storm 13. hold on to what you believe (limited edition bonus track) babel (september 2012) 1. babel 2. whispers in the dark 3. i will wait 4. holland road 5. ghosts that we knew 6. lover of the light 7. lovers' eyes 8. reminder 9. hopeless wanderer 10. broken crown 11. below my feet 12. not with haste 13. for those below (deluxe edition bonus track) 14. the boxer (deluxe edition bonus track) 15. where are you now? (deluxe edition bonus track) wilder mind (may 2015) 1. tompkins square park 2. believe 3. the wolf 4. wilder mind 5. just smoke 6. monster 7. snake eyes 8. broad-shouldered beasts 9. cold arms 10. ditmas 11. only love 12. hot gates
live albums
live at shepherd's bush empire (october 2011)
the road to red rocks (november 2012)
extended plays
the dove brothers (july 2008)
love your ground (november 2008)
itunes festival: london 2009 (july 2009)
the dove brothers, laura marling, & dharohar project (july 2010)
itunes festival: london 2010 (july 2010)
the wedding band - the first dance (october 2010)
itunes festival: london 2012 (march 2013)
live from bull moose (april 2013)
contributions
"the enemy" from the soundtrack to wuthering heights (2011)
"not with haste" from the soundtrack to brave (2012)
"dink's song" from the soundtrack to inside llewyn davis (2013)
w/the new basement tapes
lost on the river: the new basement tapes (november 2014)
awards
2010: aria music awards - most popular international act
2010: q awards - best new act
2010: uk festival awards - breakthrough artist
2011: brit awards - british album of the year
2011: billboard music awards - top rock album, top alternative album, top alternative artist
2013: billboard music awards - top rock album
2013: brit awards - best british group
2013: echo awards - international rock/pop group
2013: juno awards - international album of the year
2013: grammy awards - album of the year, best long form music video (for big easy express)
2014: ivor novello awards - international achievement
one when not on the road touring — which isn’t all that often — he resides mainly in london, but also has an ancient little brownstone in brooklyn where he keeps an extensive collection of shot glasses that he’s oddly proud of.
two an avid reader, but the kind who reads the same books over and over again, usually the classics; has figured before that maybe expanding his literary horizons would help with his writing, but never really acts on that feeling.
three although his skill at it is questionable, he loves to cook and finds the immediacy of being able to prepare food and then eating it to be a good replacement for the the delayed gratification that comes with making music for public consumption.
four makes every attempt at a yearly pilgrimage to his maternal grandmother’s residence in childress, texas where she has worked since 1983 at the childress county heritage museum and can sometimes be caught helping her dust exhibits.
five the kind of guy who lives for a cause to live for, he never hesitates for even a second to donate to any charity or play a concert for a charitable cause. his therapist says it’s a guilt thing.
six always eager to pick up a new instrument and considers instruments the best gift that anybody could give him, especially an instrument that he’s never seen or played before.
seven admittedly pretty into his beard even though he isn't usually a narcissistic guy when it comes to appearances. it takes a lot of upkeep and he never slacks on it, usually devoting a minimum of ten to fifteen minutes to it a day. equally concerned about his tattoos, of which he has many.
eight was engaged once, to elaine, but they mutually decided to break things off after two years of dating and two years into their engagement, deciding that they were better off as friends. he still thinks incredibly highly of her and loves her a lot.
nine became the godfather to his cousin's son, timothy, when he was just twenty-one. timothy's father wound up running out on them, so for all intents and purposes ryland is the closest thing to a father that tim actually knows.