Singer-songwriter Troy Ramey spent his teen years in Newport and is best for his 2017 run on NBC’s The Voice. Ramey is headlining a show on Friday, October 20, at the Newport Playhouse, appearing “in the round” with Lee Rogers and King Kyote as part of the venue’s ‘Newport to Nashville’ concert series. Click here for tickets and further information.
We spoke to Ramey recently and learned more about his Newport roots, his time on ‘The Voice,’ and his upcoming album All I Had.
“My mom grew up in Middletown, and my Dad grew up in Fall River,” he explained. “My parents actually met in Newport when my dad was playing in a band. I grew up in Vermont until I was 15 when my family moved back to Rhode Island, and I finished high school at Rogers. My Dad was also a teacher there. Although I only really lived here from 15-19 years old, I still feel like Newport is home.”
Ramey’s experience on the popular TV show The Voice in 2017 was an unexpected career boost that made him a household name. With the support of Coach Gwen Stefani, Ramey made it to the Top 12 of the competition.
“It helped me with my confidence as a performer,” he said. “‘The Voice’ was never really on my radar. As a singer-songwriter, I always assumed the singing shows were for big power singers. But when I was invited to audition, I figured I had nothing to lose. Fortunately, I did very well on the show, and because of that, I spent a lot of time with the band and production. I learned to really face my fear and prepare properly. I remember being so nervous that my hands were shaking, but when you are well-rehearsed and fully prepared, there isn’t much that can go wrong. So in a way, learning how to prepare properly was a major takeaway for me.”
Ramey has a guitar-based sound that incorporates everything from country to R&B. He’s been playing professionally for over a decade and is releasing his first full-length album All I Had gradually over the next year or so.
“The first single, “Radio,” came out on 9/29, and the second single, “Fate,” will be out on 11/10,” he said. “I’ll be releasing each song as a single about every five weeks over the next 12 months, and the full album will be released after that. It’s a record I’ve been wanting to make for years, but the stars were never aligned. I have never been prouder of anything, and I’m really looking forward to unveiling it slowly over the next year. The whole album is really about my journey trying to chase this dream. But I realized that I’m really not chasing anything, I’m living it currently.”
He shared a little about his songwriting process. “Songwriting for me is not a very rigid process. Sometimes, I’ll sit down with a goal, other times, I’ll take bits and pieces of songs from the past and try to make something work. I guess one consistent theme in my writing is honesty. I try to really just write about things that I have gone through or felt. It’s the only way for me to feel like I will be, ‘believable.’ That’s what’s really important to me.”
Ramey has also recorded some strong covers of songs by artists including Jason Isbell and Cat Stevens, with several tunes available on music streaming services. “Some have done very, very well on Spotify with over 10 million streams collectively, he noted. “I just choose the songs that I really love to sing. That’s the only prerequisite, If I love it, I’ll sing it!”
Tickets to Friday’s show are still available. “I’m looking forward to this show at Newport Playhouse. I love and miss Newport so much, so it is an honor to feel the love and support in my hometown!”
For tickets to the show, click here.
For more information, visit Ramey’s website here.
Check out Troy Ramey on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/1mDIRLdkFeryJy9XXEHSB7?si=96691aaa7fac4d8a
